Looking For Love
by Nichole33
Summary: Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, was the story of Julie Taylor’s life…until she returns to Dillon for a friend’s wedding and finds herself possibly hearing wedding bells of her own. Tulie fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Looking For Love

Pairing: Tim/Julie

Synopsis: "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride," was the story of Julie Taylor's life…until she returns to Dillon for a friend's wedding and finds herself possibly hearing wedding bells of her own.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own none of the beautiful characters in this story.

A/N: Hello ladies! Here's the first chapter of my new Tulie fic. Hopefully you all will enjoy this first chapter and want to read more of this story! As always, please let me know your thoughts - feedback is appreciated. Enjoy :D

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Julie Taylor should have known that the day was going to be a bad one when she woke up and couldn't do anything with her hair.

She rarely had bad hair days. Luckily, her long blonde locks were usually pretty manageable, but this morning had been a different story.

Already in a hurry to get to the airport, her hair had been a frizzy mess, sticking out all over the place. She had finally pulled it up in a high ponytail, saying 'to hell with it' and heading for the airport.

Though there was no need to rush. Her flight from New York to Houston had been delayed, and to top it all off the rental car she had reserved had accidentally been given to someone else by an 'error' in the computer system, leaving her with a small foreign car that looked like something you would see clowns driving around in at the circus.

Yep. She should have seen this coming, she thought silently as she stood on the side of road, staring down at her flat tire.

"Piece of shit." She muttered, giving the tire a good kick, cursing again as pain shot up her foot.

She had been riding along, headed for Dillon when she heard a popping sound, followed by the unmistakable 'thud, thud, thud' of a flat tire.

And of course she hadn't purchased the rental car insurance that came with roadside assistance.

Nope.

A small decision that she was now regretting.

She sighed as she leaned against the hood of the small car, wondering what to do next. She figured that she was a good twenty minutes out of Midland, which meant that she was still a good thirty minutes or so away from Dillon.

She had seen people change tires before, but she had never changed one herself. That was probably kind of sad considering that she was twenty-six years old, but it was the truth.

She knew that she could probably call her dad, and that he'd come change the tire for her, but with it being just a little after lunch he was still in school.

As was her mother, though she felt certain her mom didn't know shit about changing tires either.

She groaned as she walked around to the back of the car, opening the trunk and locating the jack and the spare tire.

She'd try to change the tire herself. It couldn't be _that_ hard.

And if worse came to worse, she'd just have to call her dad.

Or maybe she'd get lucky and someone in a passing vehicle would feel pity on her and stop and give her a hand.

She grabbed the jack, hefting it out of the car and around to the side of the road, hoping that she was placing it in the right spot as she began pumping it up and down, trying to slowly lift the car off the ground enough to get the flat tire off.

It didn't take long for her to break out in a sweat from the force she was having to put behind the jack and the hot Texas sun beating down on her.

I'd kill for a bottle of water right about now, she thought as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

As she continued to struggle with the jack, her mind wandered to the reason she was returning to Dillon – Tyra's wedding.

Tyra and Landry were finally getting married in a little less than two weeks, and of course as the best friend Julie had come home to help her prepare.

With Julie living in Manhattan, she didn't get to see her friend nearly as much as she would have liked, but they talked almost daily, with Tyra keeping her updated on all the local Dillon gossip.

While she was frustrated as hell at the moment, she really was glad to be coming home for a little while. It would be good to see her family, as well as friends and old classmates she hadn't seen in what seemed like ages.

"If I ever actually make it to Dillon." She muttered to herself, groaning as the jack slipped out of her hand for about the third time. "Ahhh!" She yelled, standing and wiping her sweaty hands on her dark jeans.

She turned her head, hearing the sound of brakes squealing. She shielded her eyes with her hand as she watched a dark blue Chevy pickup make a U-turn in the road before heading back toward her, pulling up slowly behind her rental car.

Julie smiled, looking toward the sky. "Thank you, God." She mumbled, ecstatic that some kind soul had stopped to help her out.

Hopefully it wasn't some old pervert, even though at this point she really didn't care.

She watched a man climb out of the truck and shut the door, slowly ambling toward her on long legs encased in old, snug denim.

Her gaze travelled up and over a black t-shirt that looked like it had been painted on, before landing on the man's face.

"Tim Riggins." She breathed, not much of a sound coming out of her mouth as he continued walking toward her slowly.

"Well, if it ain't little Julie Taylor." Tim drawled, his voice still as slow and deep as she remembered as he gave her his trademark grin that had always worked wonders on the ladies.

Boy oh boy, the good Lord had been good to Tim. He had already been like sex on legs back in high school, but the grown up version was enough to make breathing near impossible.

"Uh, hey Tim." Julie finally stammered, wiping her dirty hands on her jeans. "How are you?"

She knew that she probably looked a fright with her already frizzy hair and sweat soaked shirt, not to mention the grease on her hands and jeans.

Tim smirked. "A lot better than you from the looks of it, Taylor." He replied, nodding toward her flat tire.

Julie laughed shortly, shaking her head. "Just my luck. It's been that kind of day." She said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, trying not to get dirt on her face.

"This your car?"

"No." She answered quickly. "It's a rental. Probably the worst rental ever." She muttered, smiling as she saw Tim's lips turn up in a smile at her words.

"Need a hand?" He asked, not waiting for an answer as he squatted down, readjusting the jack before pumping it up and down.

"Uh, sure." She said slowly, distracted by the muscles rippling in his arms and underneath his snug shirt as he made pumping the jack look easy, not to mention that the way he was squatting was giving her a delectable view of his denim-covered butt.

Tim had the car up in less than a minute, standing and dusting his hands on his jeans. "Let me get my wrench out of the toolbox on my truck. It'll be better for gettin' these lug nuts off." He said with a nod, turning and walking back toward his truck.

Julie watched as he walked away. He still moved the same – slowly, almost lazily, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

A conversation that she had with Lois years ago popped into her head, in which they had contemplated if Tim Riggins did everything slowly and lazily, including making love.

No, no, no.

Don't go there, Taylor, she scolded herself silently.

Julie took a deep breath, leaning against the side of the car as she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye.

She had to get a grip.

He was good looking. So what? She was around good looking guys all the time.

And he was Tim Riggins.

The town bad boy.

Her dad's star fullback.

An old friend.

Tyra was right. Julie had been way too long without a man and she needed to get laid. That obviously explained her reaction to Tim.

Obviously.

"Here you go." Tim drawled, walking back up to her and passing her a bottle of water. "It was mine, but you look like you could use it." He smirked.

"Thanks." Julie replied gratefully, quickly twisting the cap off and gulping down the cold liquid.

She sighed, closing her eyes as she held the cool bottle against her cheeks and forehead. She opened them after a few seconds, finding Tim staring at her with a funny look on his face.

Great. He probably thinks I'm certifiable, Julie thought as she gave him a small smile.

"Um, thanks." She repeated, twisting the cap back on and holding the bottle back out toward Tim.

He shook his head slightly. "Keep it." He drawled, bending down and beginning to remove the lug nuts from the tire. "I'm surprised at you, Taylor. Have you been off in the big city too long to remember how hot it gets here. Texans never go anywhere without something to drink."

"Oh, I remember." Julie replied, wondering just how much Tim knew about her living in the big city.

Julie had graduated from Columbia University with a degree in photojournalism, and had ended up staying in the city even after graduation, only returning home for short, occasional visits, usually around the holidays.

She knew that Tim and Landry were pretty much best buds, and that Tyra and Landry undoubtedly talked about her occasionally.

She also knew that Tim still talked to her parents a lot, because she heard her parents talking about him a lot too.

"Did you just get in?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, this morning." Julie said, her gaze once again drawn to the muscles rippling in his arms. "Coming home for the big wedding and all."

Tim grinned. "About damn time." He said with a chuckle. "They've been engaged like, what? Five years?"

"Just two years." Julie said with a laugh. "They wanted to wait until Landry got out of graduate school. And that's finally happened, so now they're getting hitched. You're in the wedding too, right?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

Tim nodded. "Yeah. Gotta wear a damn tux." He said, grinning up at her. "But I guess it's worth it."

Julie nodded, imagining what Tim would look like in a tuxedo.

Probably too hot for words.

"Here we go." Tim drawled, finally pulling the flat tire off, looking it over. "It's got about a two-inch gash in it. That can't be patched up. You'll have to get a new one."

"Great." Julie replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "And of course, you know, I didn't purchase the rental insurance that would pay for that. So, I've gotta buy a damn tire myself."

Tim stood, dusting his hands on his jeans. "We've got a ton of used tires at the shop. I've probably got one that'll fit." Tim drawled, grabbing the spare out the trunk and walking back toward her. "I could put a good tire on there for you."

"Are you sure?" Julie asked, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I mean, I hate for you to have to do that when you're not even at work."

"No worries." He drawled. "I had to run to Midland and pick up some parts for a transmission I'm working on. I was headin' back to the shop when I saw a damsel in distress." He said with a smirk.

Julie chuckled, shaking her head. "Are you in the habit of rescuing grown women who can't change tires, Tim?"

"It's tough, but somebody's gotta do it." He said cheekily, giving her a sexy grin.

Sweet Jesus. He shouldn't be allowed to grin like that.

Didn't he know that grin could cause serious heart problems in women over the age of eighteen? Not to mention the young girls he used to affect back in his younger days.

Julie cleared her throat. "Um, well sure. That'd be great if I could go ahead and get a new tire."

"No problem." Tim replied, making quick work of putting on the spare before standing and dusting his hands off.

He turned toward her, cocking his head to the side. "You wanna follow me back to the shop and I'll get that tire taken care of for you?"

"Yeah." Julie smiled. "That'd be great."

Tim nodded, gathering his tools and taking a few backwards steps toward his truck. "Alright. Follow me, Taylor."

"Okay." Julie replied, giving him a smile before climbing into the tiny car.

She quickly started the vehicle, cranking the air conditioner up as high as it would go. She waited for Tim to pull his big truck out onto the highway before falling in behind him.

Well, she was finally back on the road headed toward Dillon, despite all the things that kept happening to slow her journey.

She hadn't planned on this last little detour either, but she had to admit that with Tim Riggins there, it hadn't been that bad.

At least the scenery had been nice, she thought with a chuckle, an image of his muscles and sexy grin popping into her head again as she followed along behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: I was overwhelmed by all the reviews, alerts, and favorites after only the first chapter of this story. You ladies are truly awesome :D Hope that you all like this one as well! Enjoy!!!

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Tim pulled up in front of Riggins Riggs, quickly killing the engine and hopping out of his truck. He walked around the back of the truck, watching as Julie pulled her small rental car into the parking lot.

"Pull on in the shop." Tim said, motioning for Julie to pull her car into the garage so that he could change the tire.

She nodded, giving him a quick smile as she slowly pulled the car into the garage before bringing it to a stop.

He walked up beside the car, giving her a thumbs up when she looked toward him to see if that was far enough.

He smiled as he watched her pull herself out of the car. She looked tired, with her hair falling out of her ponytail and smudges of dirt on her clothes, not to mention a little on her face.

Tired, but absolutely hot and adorable all at the same time. Tim wasn't sure how a woman could be both, but somehow Julie managed to pull it off.

Little Julie Taylor.

He hadn't seen her in what felt like forever, but he knew it had been just a few years. He had seen her at a football game when she was home visiting a couple of years ago.

They hadn't spoken, but he had watched her long enough to see that she was still as beautiful as she had been back in high school, and that there was still that something about her that made her stand out from the crowd.

Looking at her now, he knew that was still true.

There was just something about Julie Taylor.

There always had been.

"This is a nice place." Julie said, looking around the auto shop, her gaze flitting from one piece of machinery to another, trying to take everything in.

"You sound surprised." Tim smirked, taking note of the sound of her voice.

He didn't blame her. He still wondered sometimes how he and Billy had managed to build such a successful business.

He knew the majority of people in Dillon never would have thought the Riggins brothers would amount to much of anything.

But they'd proved 'em wrong.

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Julie said quickly. "I just meant, well, that it's nice." She said with a shrug, giving him a grin.

Tim chuckled. "Thanks, Taylor." He replied honestly.

"And uh, was that a cow I saw in that fence out front?" She asked, arching her eyebrows at him.

"No." He drawled, trying to hold back a smirk. "It's a steer, not a cow."

"Oh, excuse me." Julie said slowly, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Was that a steer I saw in the fence out front?"

Tim nodded, a grin on his lips. "Yeah. That's Tex."

"Is he like a Riggins Riggs mascot or something?" She enquired, smiling up at him.

He found himself smiling back as he answered her. "Yeah, something like that." He drawled, starting to walk toward the back of the shop. "Come on, let's go find that tire."

He walked from the main area toward the back, passing Ronny and Joe, two of the other mechanics. "Hey guys. How's it goin' around here?"

"Good." Ronny replied, running a hand over his short red hair. "We finished that carburetor on the Buick, and got all the oil changes done. Billy left for the day, too. Something about Mindy bein' sick again."

Tim nodded. "Well, if y'all finished everything y'all go ahead and take off. Get out of here a little early today."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you, boss." Joe said with a laugh.

Tim smirked. "See you guys tomorrow." He stated, continuing on into the back as Julie followed close behind.

"Mindy's sick?" Julie asked curiously.

Tim walked into the back room, beginning to sort through a large stack of tires, looking for one that would fit the rental car.

"Yeah." Tim replied slowly. "You know she's about eight months along, and I think she's had mornin' sickness for all eight of 'em."

Tim had heard over and over from Billy how sick Mindy had been, and how he swore this was the last kid they were gonna have because he couldn't take another pregnancy like this one.

"Now that you mention it, I think I do remember Tyra sayin' something about that." Julie said, following along behind Tim as he chose a tire and headed back out front.

"There's a lobby right over there with a television and stuff if you want to wait in there." Tim stated as he began removing the spare tire from the rental car.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Julie asked with a small laugh, the sound bringing a smile to his lips.

Tim glanced up at her, finding her looking down at him with her hands on her slim hips and a smile on her face.

"No." Tim drawled, giving her a smirk. "Just tryin' to be hospitable, Taylor."

"Well, thanks but I think I'd rather just sit here and watch you." She replied.

Tim grinned at her words, watching as she started to blush as she realized how her words had sounded.

He knew she hadn't meant those words literally, but he definitely wouldn't mind having her watch him.

As long as he could do the same.

"I mean, not _watch_ you." She said quickly, rolling her eyes playfully. "Just, you know, I'd rather stay out here with you and chat than sit in there alone."

Tim nodded, turning back toward the car and trying to hide his smirk from her as he removed the spare.

"So…" Julie said slowly, pulling up a small stool and taking a seat near Tim. "Are those guys you sent home the only other workers besides you and Billy?"

"Yeah." Tim nodded slowly. "Billy handles most of the paperwork and billing, while me and the guys handle most of the floor work. We've got a nice little clientele built up, so we stay pretty busy."

"You like it." Julie stated, giving him a smile.

Tim nodded, giving her a grin. "Yeah, I do."

"I know you went to San Antonio State after high school. When'd you come back home and start workin' here?"

Tim sighed, leaning back against the car for a few seconds. "I managed to stay at San Antonio State for a year, barely." He said with a grin. "It just wasn't for me. So, I packed up and came back home."

"I bet Billy was glad to have you back." She quipped.

"Not really." He said with a grin. "He pretty much chewed my ass for quittin' school, kept tellin' me I was screwing up. But he eventually got over it when he realized I really wasn't goin' back."

"Then you started working here?"

Tim nodded. "Yeah. I took some auto mechanic classes and a few business classes over at Dillon Tech, but that's about it as far as school. Poor Billy never got that Riggins degree from me."

"Well, he got a good mechanic out of the deal." Julie replied. "Seems fair to me." She said with a grin.

Tim grinned back at her, noticing the way her pretty eyes lit up, making his gut clench.

"How 'bout you?" He asked quickly, turning back to begin putting on the new tire. "You're a photographer?"

"Photojournalist."

He looked over his shoulder, giving her a questioning look. He didn't have a clue what that really meant.

She laughed lightly. "I do some journalism writing, and yes I'm a photographer, but the photos I take are used to tell a story. Mostly for newspapers and magazines."

Tim nodded. "You work for a paper, right? I think I've heard Coach say that before."

He'd actually heard Coach mention it many times. He knew that Julie worked mainly for a New York newspaper, but that she also did some free lance work as well.

"Yeah. _The Gazette_." She replied. "But I do some other stuff on the side. I do a lot of travelling, just got back from Africa a few weeks ago. I stay pretty busy."

"You like it?" He asked, repeating her earlier words.

"Most days." She responded, her smile not quite reaching her eyes this time. "There are days when I'm swamped or weeks when I'm out of town when I wish I had chosen some little office job somewhere, but then I catch that perfect shot and it's all worth it."

"You'll have to show me your work sometime." He said, giving her a smile.

"Uh, sure." She said, giving him a smile.

Tim nodded, dropping the jack as he finally got the new tire on and ready to roll. "Well, here you go, Taylor. One new tire. Well, good as new anyway." He smirked.

"Thanks so much, Tim. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without you." Julie said as she stood, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'd probably still be on the side of the road struggling with that stupid jack." She said with a laugh.

Tim chuckled. "You'd done be passed out and dehydrated by now, Taylor."

"I was half way there when you showed up." She laughed, the sound and the sight once again making his gut clench. "That water you gave me was about the best thing I've ever put in my mouth."

Tim tried not to think about her drinking that bottle of water. Watching her gulping down the water, and then the way she had closed her eyes and pressed it to her warm face had been down right sensual.

Tim had gotten half-hard just watching her.

"Well, how much do I owe you?" Julie asked, pulling a wad of money out of her pocket.

Tim shook his head. "Don't worry 'bout it."

There was no way he was going to accept her money. It hadn't taken him long, and he had thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with her.

"Tim, come on. I just told you that you pretty much saved me." She said with a smile. "I don't know how much you charge for this kind of thing."

"For you, nothing." He replied, taking a step toward her. "Consider it one old friend helpin' out another."

Julie sighed. "Alright. But I owe you one." She said quickly.

Tim nodded slowly, unable to stop himself from reaching out with his hand and gently wiping a smudge of dirt off of her cheek.

"You uh, had some dirt right there." He explained, giving her a grin.

"Um, thanks." Julie mumbled, wiping her small hands over her cheeks. "I know I probably look a mess. It's been a really, long day."

"You look good, Taylor." He said softly, meeting her gaze. "Real good."

And she did.

Real good in a way that had him thinking thoughts he probably had no business thinking about.

"Thanks." She replied, her cheeks beginning to redden slightly. "Well, um, I guess I better actually get on home. My parents are probably wondering where I am since my plane landed hours ago."

Tim nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he reluctantly took a step back. "Yeah, you better get goin'."

"Thanks again, Tim." Julie said, giving him another heart-stopping smile. "It was good to see you."

"You too, Taylor." He said, meaning every word.

It _had_ been good to see her.

He watched as she opened her car door before turning back to him. "I guess I'll be seein' you around a lot, with the wedding and all." She said quickly.

Tim nodded. "I guess you will." He drawled, giving her a smile.

"Okay then. Bye, Tim." She smiled, sliding in and starting the car.

"Bye." Tim said softly, returning her small wave as she slowly pulled out of the garage and out onto the highway.

Tim sighed, a smile breaking out on his face as he watched her go.

He had a feeling that it was going to be nice having Julie home.

Very nice indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Thanks as always for the great reviews! Not much Tim/Julie interaction in this chapter, but I promise lots in the next one. Hope you ladies enjoy it anyways :D

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Tim brought his truck to a stop in front of his house, grabbing his bag of food from Fran's off the seat and slowly sliding out of the truck.

He smiled as he saw Duke, his four-year old beagle running around the side of the house to welcome him home.

"Hey buddy." Tim drawled, giving the small dog a good scratch behind his ears and a pat on the side.

Tim had always wanted a puppy, but his parents had always said no. And after they bailed on him and Billy, Tim had never really bothered asking Billy for one.

He figured that Billy had his hands full taking care of him, much less a dog too. But he'd had Duke now for almost four years, almost as long as he'd had the house and the spot on the lake.

As he walked toward the front door, he glanced out toward his view of Lake Dillon, enjoying the picture of the sun setting over the lake. It was prime time for fishing, but Tim thought that he was going to have to pass on fishing this evening.

Tim entered the house, holding the door open to let Duke inside before shutting it and making his way through the living area into the small kitchen at the back of the house.

He placed his food on the table and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, popping the top and taking a long drink. Duke whined, drawing Tim's gaze to the floor where the small dog sat giving him a sad look.

"You've got food in your bowl." Tim said, motioning over to the dog's small food bowl. Tim sighed as Duke continued giving him the sad-eyed look, whining quietly.

"You are so spoiled." Tim muttered, re-opening the fridge and grabbing a piece of ham, placing it in Duke's food bowl before turning back to his own food.

He sighed as he sat down at the table, pulling his burger and fries out of the bag.

Another dinner alone.

He should be used to them by now, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't something he was going to get used to. He ate with Billy and Mindy and the kids sometimes, but he didn't want to intrude on them all the time.

And he had dinner with Landry and Tyra occasionally, but again, he didn't want to wear out his welcome.

And of course he went on dates with women, taking them out to dinner, but that hadn't happened in a while. Landry had been teasing him, saying he was losing his touch, but the truth was that Tim was just kind of tired of the same old thing.

Random dates with random women were getting kind of old. He wasn't sure what he wanted, but he didn't want that anymore.

He took a big bite out of his burger, groaning as he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. Couldn't a guy just enjoy his burger, he thought to himself, glancing at the phone to see Landry's name on the screen.

Tim smiled. "What's up, Eight-Five."

"Tim does it not strike you as strange that we've been out of school for years, and you still call people by their Panther numbers?" Landry asked with a chuckle.

Tim grinned, taking drink of his beer, knowing that his friend was asking a rhetorical question and didn't expect an answer. "You headin' home?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, it was a long day at the office." Landry sighed.

"Yeah." Tim drawled slowly. "It must be really tough sitting in an office crunching numbers all day." He said with a grin.

Landry snorted. "You should definitely stick with auto mechanics and leave the comedy to somebody else, Tim." Landry replied, causing Tim to chuckle. "I was callin' to see if you could work Tyra in tomorrow. Her car needs an oil change, like ASAP. She should have had it changed like three months ago, but she's just been so busy."

"Yeah, we can probably squeeze her in tomorrow. Just tell her to bring it in on her lunch break and we'll try to get her in and out quickly."

"Thanks, man." Landry replied. "She's got so much goin' on right now with the wedding and all, that she'll appreciate not havin' to wait a while."

Tim grunted in agreement, popping a few fries into his mouth. "She's stayin' busy I bet."

"That's an understatement. I never realized there was so much stuff to do for a damn wedding." Landry grumbled good-naturedly. "But Julie's flying in for the next few weeks to help her out, so that will take some of the load off."

Tim smiled, thinking of his run in with Julie earlier in the day. "Yeah, I ran into Taylor earlier. She was havin' some car trouble."

"Julie?"

"Yeah." Tim replied. "I was headin' back from Midland after pickin' up some parts, and saw this hot blonde on the side of the road with a flat. And being the kind-hearted gentleman that I am, I of course stopped to help."

Landry laughed at the gentleman comment, mumbling a "yeah right" as Tim continued talking.

"Anyways, it turned out to be Taylor. Her rental got a flat on the way home."

"And you being the gentleman that you are changed her tire." Landry said with a chuckle.

"Of course." Tim replied, throwing a fry down on the floor for Duke to eat. "I put on her spare, then we went back to the shop and I put a new tire on there for her."

"Did you charge her?" Landry asked quickly.

"Of course not." Tim drawled, like Landry was stupid for asking such a question. "It's Julie Taylor."

Landry just laughed. "That's real sweet of you, Riggins. Real sweet." He said playfully.

"Whatever, Clarke." Tim mumbled, grinning as he got up to throw his trash in the garbage.

"So, she looked hot, huh?" Landry asked, and Tim was sure that he was grinning ear to ear.

Tim chuckled. Of course Landry had picked up on that little comment.

"Yeah. She looked good. Real good." Tim said quietly, remembering for a second just how good she had looked, even with her frizzy hair and dirt smeared on her face.

"Well, that's good." Landry said slyly. "I'm sure we'll all be spending a lot of time together these next few weeks."

Tim grinned at Landry's words. That definitely didn't sound too bad to him.

* * *

"The chili was great, dad." Julie said, giving her father a grin as she pushed her bowl back away from her.

"Well, of course it was." Eric replied, a smirk on his face. "I know that you probably missed it more than anything your mother cooks." He said playfully, giving Tami a wink.

Julie laughed at the look on her mother's face. "No comment." She replied quickly.

"I love your chili, daddy." Gracie said quickly. "But I don't know if it's better than mama's spaghetti." She said, squinching her nose up.

Julie smiled. It was nice to be home. She didn't get home nearly enough.

She knew that her parents missed her deeply, as did nine-year old Gracie. And she missed them too. But there wasn't exactly a lot of photojournalism work for her in Dillon.

"So, have you got your boys all ready for this Friday's game, dad?" Julie asked, propping her elbows on the table.

Tami sighed. "Jules honey, you know my rule about football."

"Yeah, mom. That rule that you've always said we have, but that we never manage to follow." Julie replied with a smirk. "It's impossible for the Taylor's to have a conversation that doesn't involve football."

Eric grinned, nodding. "Smart girl." He muttered. "And yeah, I think we'll be okay this week. We've won our first four games and the boys are practicin' hard."

"That's good. It'll be nice to get to see a game. It's been a while." Julie said softly.

"Yeah, you don't come home enough, Jules. I miss you." Gracie piped up, giving Julie a look.

Julie felt a guilty ache in her chest, smiling as she stood and wrapped her arms around Gracie from behind. "Well Gracie Belle, I have a feeling that after the next week or two of bein' stuck with me that you're gonna be wishing I was gone."

Julie ruffled her hair, smiling as she began to giggle.

"How much did Riggins charge you for that tire?" Eric asked, changing the subject to their earlier topic of conversation.

Her family had gotten a good laugh out of her story about the obstacles she had faced on her return to Dillon.

But they had been glad to hear that Tim had shown up to help her out when she had been stranded on the side of the road.

"I tried to pay him, but he wouldn't let me." Julie answered, beginning to help her mother and Gracie clear the table of dishes.

Eric nodded, standing from the table and following his girls into the kitchen. "That sounds like Tim."

"What? Stubborn?" Julie asked with a smirk, getting a chuckle out of her mother.

"Well, that too." Eric grinned. "He and Billy have got a good little business goin' over there. Your mom and I take all our vehicles to be serviced there."

"It helps that Tim gives us a discount, too." Tami stated, giving Julie a smile. "The Riggins boys have a soft spot for your dad. And whether he'll admit it or not, your dad's always had a soft spot for Tim, too."

Julie grinned. She knew that was true too. While everyone else in Dillon may have thought Tim was a lost cause, her dad had always rode him hard, pushing him to do his very best, even going so far as to offer him a place to stay.

"Well hell, honey. He's grown into a good man. Got a good head on his shoulders." Eric drawled, shrugging his shoulders. "And he gives me a discount." He finished with a grin, causing the girls to laugh.

"Well, I guess I better head over to Tyra's before it gets too late." Julie stated, glancing at her watch. "I'll be back later."

"Alright honey, just be careful." Tami said quickly, leaning in to give Julie a quick hug. "I'm so glad you're home."

"Thanks, mom." Julie replied, giving Gracie and her dad a quick hug.

"Tell Tyra and Lance that we said hello." Eric called as Julie walked toward the door.

Julie laughed. "Okay, dad." She called. "Bye guys." She said before shutting the door behind her, a feeling of contentment washing over her.

* * *

"I've already got the church reserved, and I've got the flowers ordered, and the caterer's already got the menu. We've got to get our dresses sized at some point this week, and the guys have to get their tuxes." Tyra rambled, pouring two glasses of wine as she stood in her tiny kitchen.

Julie smiled as she listened to her friend ramble on and on. It was obvious that Tyra was excited about the upcoming wedding.

And why wouldn't she be? She was marrying the man she loved. Landry Clarke.

She and Landry had already bought a house together, and had been living with one another for almost a year. But they were finally going to make it official soon.

They both seemed to be happy where they were. Tyra was in charge of marketing for Garrity Motors, which was more than a little ironic. And Landry had just got on at a top-notch accounting firm after finally finishing graduate school.

Yeah, they were happy and Julie was very happy for them. Even if there was a teeny tiny part of her that was a little envious.

"So, between the dresses, and the bachelorette party, and the rehearsal – I'm goin' to be keepin' you pretty busy over the next week or so, Jules." Tyra stated, grinning down at Julie as she handed her a glass of wine before taking the seat across from Julie at the small kitchen table.

"Well, I'm here to help." Julie replied, taking a sip of the red liquid. "You just let me know where to be and when to be there."

Tyra laughed. "You'll be ready to head back to New York for some rest by the time the wedding rolls around."

"Probably." Julie answered, laughing along with her.

The girls chatted as the minutes flew by, catching up on anything and everything. Julie couldn't help but to feel like she was in high school again, gossiping with Tyra like old times.

"So, how's the man hunt comin'?" Tyra drawled, pouring each of them another glass of wine.

"It's not." Julie replied quickly, a frown on her face. "I'm thinking of joining a nunnery."

Tyra snorted, a laugh bubbling out of her. "A nunnery huh? That's a little extreme, Jules."

Julie laughed. "I know. I'm just starting to think that maybe there's something wrong with me. I mean, Tyra, I haven't been on a date in months, and haven't had a 'relationship' in almost a year."

"That's what I keep tellin' you! You haven't had sex in almost a year. You need to get laid, Julie." Tyra drawled, leaning her elbows on the table.

"I didn't say I hadn't had sex, I said that I haven't been in a relationship." Julie clarified, even though Tyra was right.

"Where you're concerned it means the same thing." Tyra replied, shrugging her shoulders. "And you don't need to join a damn nunnery, and there's nothing wrong with you. The guys you've chosen over the years have been jerks, and here lately you've been too busy to do much more than snap pictures. Cut yourself some slack, Jules."

Julie sighed, a smile coming over her lips. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Tyra said with a grin.

"Honey, I'm home!" Landry called from the front of the house.

"We're in the kitchen." Tyra yelled back, turning back to Julie with a grin on her face. "He thinks he's funny with the whole 'honey I'm home bit." She whispered, rolling her eyes.

Julie chuckled, smiling at Landry as he walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Landry." She said, standing from her seat.

"Julie." He said with a big smile, gathering her in for a hug. "I was wonderin' whose little go-cart looking car that was outside."

"It's my rental." Julie said with a groan. "It's a real piece of crap." She muttered, sitting back down.

Landry leaned over, dropping a kiss on Tyra's lips. "Hey baby." He whispered before turning toward the fridge and grabbing a beer.

"Yeah, Tim told me that he changed a tire for you today." Landry said, taking a seat at the table with the girls.

"Tim?" Tyra asked, giving Julie a look. "You didn't tell me that you'd run into Tim."

"Well, it's more like he ran into me." Julie said with a chuckle, as she told them about her flat tire fiasco and Tim helping her out.

"And of course, he wouldn't let me pay him for it." Julie finished, taking a sip of her wine.

Landry nodded. "Yeah, that's what he said."

Julie bit her lip, wanting to ask Landry if he said anything else about her. She wasn't sure why, but she would love to know what Tim had thought about seeing her again after all these years.

"He also mentioned that it sure was good seein' you again." Landry grinned, as if he had been reading her mind.

Well damn, Julie thought as she felt her cheeks reddening. "Shut up, Landry." She said with a laugh.

"I'm serious." Landry replied, leaning forward. "He said it. I swear. Scout's honor." He said, holding up three fingers.

"Landry, you were never a boy scout." Tyra said with a chuckle, rolling her eyes at Julie.

"That's beside the point." Landry said quickly, turning back to Julie. "He did say it was good seein' you."

"Well it was good seein' him, too." Julie said with a shrug, trying not to let them know that small fact made her strangely happy. "I mean, it's always good to see old friends."

Tyra snorted. "Yeah, I don't think Landry's talkin' about Tim sayin' it was good to see an old friend, Jules." She said slowly, giving Julie a knowing look.

Julie laughed. "Whatever. Seriously, it's Tim. He's probably got like what? Two or three women at least?" She grinned, intentionally digging for a little more information on Tim. "A gaggle of rally girls still chasing after him?"

"Not really." Landry replied. "At least not at the moment. Riggins is flyin' solo right now."

"He's changed a lot over the years." Tyra said, nodding her head slightly. "His little crash and burn with Garrity and the whole long distance relationship thing kind of opened his eyes. Not saying that he's a saint by any means – the man still gets around, but he's grown up a lot from the guy you used to know."

Julie nodded slowly, taking in what her friends had said about Tim.

He was single. That was a nice little tidbit to know.

Not that she was going to do anything, but it was just nice to know that at least while she was admiring his gorgeous body, she wasn't intruding on someone else's territory.

"And Matt's not flyin' in until a couple days before the wedding." Landry said, clearing his throat and watching Julie's face closely.

Matt was going to be Landry's best man. As Landry's oldest friend, that was to be expected.

"That's good." Julie replied, giving him a smile. "How's he doin'?" She asked, taking a sip of her wine.

Matt going off to Chicago for college, while Julie stayed in Dillon for her senior year, had led to the two of them drifting apart. They had tried to make it work, but the whole long distance relationship thing just didn't work out like they had hoped.

It had been a sad day when Julie and Matt had parted ways, both knowing that at that point in their lives, it was for the best.

Julie hadn't seen him in a couple of years, but she knew that he was still in Chicago, working for an art gallery there from what Tyra had told her.

"He's doin' good. He can only take a few days off work, so he can't come down 'til a day or two before the wedding." Landry replied.

"And he's bringing his fiancé." Tyra stated, giving Julie a frown. "You should know that, just as a heads up."

Julie smiled. "Guys, it's been years since Matt and I broke up. I'll be fine. I didn't know he was engaged, but it'll be great to meet his fiancé and to see him in general." She said happily.

Though she couldn't help but feel a pain in her chest from finding out that Matt was engaged too.

Was everyone engaged or married? Was she the only one left without someone?

"Baby, Tim said that if you drop by tomorrow on your lunch break that he'll work you in, and you can get your oil changed." Landry said, changing the subject and trying to fill in the awkward silence.

No. Julie wasn't the only one left without someone.

Tim Riggins wasn't engaged or married either.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: It's been a very long week at work, and boy am I glad to see the weekend! I apologize for the long wait between updates. Hopefully this chapter will make it up to you ladies :D Thanks as always for all the great feedback and all the story alerts and faves! I really can't express how much I appreciate them all :D

* * *

Julie hummed along to the car stereo, turning up the air in the small rental car as she drove through town.

One thing she didn't miss about Texas was the heat, that was for sure.

But as she took in the familiar scenery, she had to admit that after being back in town for a few days, she was now happier than ever that she had made the trip home.

Spending time with her parents and Gracie was great, even if her parents still had a tendency to try and meddle in her business. She guessed that some things would never change.

It was kind of weird being back home and being in her old room. All of her old pictures and banners were still hanging on her walls, along with little odds and ends that represented her high school years.

She had pulled out her old yearbooks the night before, laughing at some pictures, while becoming a little misty-eyed at others.

Looking through them had left her feeling a little melancholy, only furthering the notion that she was still single while just about every other person she was friends with was either married or engaged. Even most of her friends from college were married, or at least in committed relationships.

She had joked with Tyra a few nights ago about something being wrong with her, but she wasn't sure if there was a little bit of truth to that statement.

Since her break up with Matt, she'd had two more relationships that had lasted about half a year, which for her seemed to be a long time.

She had started dating Chad before her senior year at college. He was a great guy – smart, funny, good-looking – a real all-American type of guy.

Things were great between them, but after about six months he started talking about getting married. That had pretty much just freaked her out. She was still in college. She didn't want to get married – there were still things she wanted to do, places she wanted to go.

Chad had been persistent, and in the end they had split because of their disagreement on the whole marriage issue.

Then there was Mark. He had been a real smooth operator – Julie should have known from the start that he was trouble, but she was blind to the fact.

They dated for eight months. Until Julie had found out that he had cheated on her, more than once. Apparently while Julie was out of town on assignments for work, Mark couldn't wait around long enough for her to get back.

They had broken almost a year ago. She had been on a handful of blind dates since then, but nothing worth really mentioning.

That nunnery was looking better and better. And I do look good in black, she thought silently as she pulled up in front of the bridal shop.

She smiled as she stepped out of her car. She could see Mindy and Tyra through the store window as Mindy's two kids were running around them.

She grabbed her camera bag before shutting her car door. Tyra had pretty much dubbed her the unofficial photographer, which was fine with Julie. She loved taking pictures, and she had already decided that she was going to make Tyra a photo book of all the pre-wedding events leading up to the wedding.

She pushed the store door open and headed inside, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head. "Hey you guys."

"Hey Jules." Tyra said, walking over to give her a quick hug. "I'm so glad you're here. I can't wait for you to finally get a look at the dresses."

"No problem." Julie replied, giving Mindy a grin. "Hey Mindy. How are you?"

"Well, I'll tell you, Julie." Mindy started, placing her hands on her huge belly. "I'm not too good. I feel horrible, and I look like a damn beached whale. But other than that, I'm just swell. How are you?" She asked sweetly.

Julie laughed. "I'm good, Mindy."

"Sara Jane, you and Josh quit running around." Mindy reprimanded, stopping the two children from their antics. "Go sit on that bench over there until it's time to try on y'all's stuff." She said firmly, pointing to the other side of the room.

"Aw, mom." Josh groaned, dragging his feet as he walked toward the bench.

Julie ducked her head, trying to hide her smile from the kids. She knew that 8-year old Josh was a handful, as was 5-year old Sara Jane. Tyra discussed her niece and nephew a lot, including how she wasn't so sure that Billy and Mindy needed another little wild one running around.

"Hey you guys." Julie smiled, walking toward the kids and squatting down on their level as they sat pouting on the bench. "I'm Julie, your aunt Tyra's friend."

"Yeah, I know who you are." Josh said with an adorable grin. He was most definitely a Riggins - he had the grin down pat. "I've seen pictures of you before at Aunt Tyra's."

"You're pretty." Sara Jane said sweetly, reaching out to touch Julie's long hair.

Julie grinned. "Well, thank you sweetie. You're very pretty yourself. How 'bout you guys smile for me and let me get a picture of you two."

Sara smiled, obviously loving the idea of having her picture taken, while Josh didn't seem too thrilled with the idea.

"Why do you wanna do that?" Josh asked, scrunching his nose up.

Julie grinned. "Because...I'm making your aunt Tyra a book, and I know that she would want to have pictures of her favorite niece and nephew in there."

That answer seemed to satisfy him as he nodded slightly before plastering another grin on his face.

"Alright, on the count of three." Julie stated, focusing the two kids in her camera. "One, two, three." She counted, snapping the picture before pulling back to look at the image on the small screen.

"Perfect." Julie said with a smile, turning as she heard the bell on the door chime as it opened.

"Alright ladies, let's get this show on the road!" Landry called as he walked through the door, Tim following behind.

Julie stood quickly, pulling Tim's eyes her way as their gazes collided.

He was dressed in well-worn jeans and a snug hunter green t-shirt that once again looked like it had been painted over his muscles.

"Hey, Taylor." He drawled, giving her a grin as he ran his hand through his hair. Hair that was still long and messy-looking even after all these years.

"Uh, hey." She replied, her voice sounding strange even to her own ears. Was it just her, or did there seem to suddenly be an intensity in the air just from his presence?

"Uncle Tim, Uncle Tim!" The kids said happily, breaking through her haze as they ran over to greet him.

"Hey you two." Tim said, ruffling Josh's hair and lifting Sara's small frame into his arms as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Well, if that just ain't the sweetest kiss I've ever gotten." He said playfully.

Julie felt herself melting even more. Tim was sexy in general, but seeing him being sweet with his niece and nephew was almost too much for her hormones to handle.

"Alright, alright." Tyra chimed in, wrapping her arm around Landry's waist. "Let's get started. I have a feeling that this process might take a while." She drawled, leading the way toward the back of the store to the changing areas.

Julie followed along, smiling at Tim as he stopped to motion her on ahead of him. "Thanks." She muttered.

"No worries." He drawled, walking very close behind her. Close enough that she could smell him and feel his breath on her hair.

"Okay, Mindy's already had her bridesmaid dress sized, though it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to try it on again being that you've gained more weight." Tyra drawled, giving her sister's belly a look.

"Thanks, Tyra." Mindy said with a fake smile. "I don't know why Julie just can't be your maid of honor."

"Because you're my sister, and I love you." Tyra said sweetly, wrapping her arm around Mindy's shoulder. "And you aren't gonna look as bad as you think."

Mindy snorted, rolling her eyes. "Like a beached whale in turquoise frou-frou." Mindy mumbled, earning a chuckle from the rest of the group.

"Tim and Julie, you guys both need to try on your clothes. Here you go." Tyra stated, passing a black tuxedo to Tim and a short, turquoise dress to Julie. "There's a changing area right through those doors." She said with a grin, motioning the two of them toward the door.

Julie swallowed, looking over at Tim. The thought of being that close to Tim while he was changing clothes was a little disconcerting. Not to mention the thought of her taking her clothes off as well.

"Go on." Tyra repeated, giving Julie a little shove. "We'll get the kids dressed and tailored while y'all are dressing."

"Okay." Julie sighed, slowly making her way through the doors and into a small room. A small room with lots of racks of clothes, but not a single changing room in sight. "Where's the changing rooms?" She mumbled, already realizing that there weren't any.

"Looks like this it." Tim drawled from close behind her, causing Julie to jump as she turned back toward him. "I think I can change in front of you, Taylor, as long as you promise not to take advantage of me." He said playfully, giving her a wink as he laid his tuxedo over a rack of clothes.

Julie watched as he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, revealing the best chest and abs that she had ever set her eyes on. It was apparent that Tim still worked out – a lot from the looks of all that chiseled muscle.

Not take advantage of him? That might be harder than she thought.

"You gonna get changed, Taylor?" He asked, a smirk on his face as he started to slip off his shoes.

Julie cleared her throat. Damn it, get a grip.

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered. "I think I'm gonna stand over here." She said, walking around behind a large rack of clothing, at least keeping her covered from the neck down.

She heard Tim chuckle, and turned back to find him smirking at her. "You don't trust me to be good, Taylor?"

"Not a bit." Julie replied quickly, causing his chuckle to turn into a full-fledged laugh.

She smiled as she began to undress, quickly stripping down to her underwear. The dress was strapless, and she hadn't worn a strapless bra. Biting her lip she quickly decided to just go braless for the time being.

She glanced over at Tim, watching as he pulled a pair of black pants up and over a very fine-looking backside that was covered in a pair of snug black briefs.

Her gaze travelled up to his bare back, admiring the muscles that were there as well. She watched as he raised his arms to pull on a white-button up shirt, revealing a hint of dark hair and well-developed arm muscles.

Oh crap, Taylor! You are not getting all hot and bothered over some damn arm pit hair, she told herself silently.

"Your rental givin' you anymore trouble?" Tim asked, breaking the silence and drawing Julie's thoughts out of the gutter that they were headed toward.

"Uh, no. No more problems." She replied, pulling the dress on slowly. "Have you saved anymore stranded women on the side of the road?" She asked, giving him a grin over the rack of clothes.

Tim chuckled, shaking his head as he buttoned up his white shirt. "Nah. Just you this week, Taylor. I figure one woman a week is about all I can handle." He drawled.

Julie snorted. "Well, that's a change. If I remember correctly you had a different girl about every day back in high school." She said, arching her eyebrow at him.

"Well, it don't work like that anymore." He stated, giving her a look that she couldn't read.

"It doesn't work anymore?" Julie asked, wondering exactly what he meant.

"Well, 'it' works just fine." Tim said with a chuckle, motioning toward the button and fly of his pants, making her face redden instantly. "I meant that I don't have a different girl for every day of the week like I used to. That's different now."

Julie huffed, tugging on the zipper on the back of the dress as she tried unsuccessfully to keep the heat out of her face.

She could not think of Tim and 'it' working just fine.

No, no, no.

Finally giving up on getting the zipper on her own, she walked out from behind the rack of clothes. "Zip me up?" She asked, trying not to admire how good he looked in his full tuxedo.

"Your face sure is red, Taylor." Tim smirked. "Is it a little warm in here for you?"

Julie snorted, knowing that he knew full well that his little remark had left her flustered. "Yeah, from all that hot air coming out of your mouth." She muttered, causing him to chuckle. "Zip me up so we can get this over with." She repeated, turning around to give him access to the zipper.

She gathered her hair in her hand, lifting it up off of her back as she felt one large hand grip her waist while the other hand begin to move the zipper slowly up her back.

Julie held her breath and willed herself not to shiver at the feel of his hands on her skin. Was it just her, or was he taking an extremely long time to zip the one damn zipper?

"There you go." He said softly, giving her small waist a squeeze.

"Uh, thanks." She stammered, turning back around and giving him a small smile. "The tux looks good."

Tim smirked. "Lookin' pretty sweet yourself, Taylor."

"Thanks." She said with a smile, both of them staring at one another for several seconds.

Why did he have to be so damn good looking? It just wasn't fair to her hormones.

"Hey you guys." Landry called, opening the door and sticking his head inside the changing area. "What's takin' y'all so long?"

"We're coming." Julie replied quickly, stepping around Tim and heading toward the door. "It takes time to look this good." She joked.

Landry chuckled. "Well Tyra sent me to check on you guys. She wants to hurry and get this over with so that we can go grab some dinner or a few drinks, or both."

"The drinks sound good." Tim drawled, walking up and giving Landry a clap on the back as they shared a grin. "You in, Taylor?"

"Yeah, sure." Julie replied, giving them both a smile as she headed past them to find Tyra.

A good stiff drink was just what she needed to calm her – courtesy of Tim Riggins – frazzled nerves.

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, seeing him laughing at something Landry had said.

Make that more than one stiff drink, she thought with a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Many, many thanks for the lovely reviews on the last chapter. As I always say, you ladies are the best! I hope that you all are enjoying these chapters of Tim and Julie getting acquainted again. I'm having fun writing all this flirtiness between them, even if it is torture for some of you, lol ;D Thanks again - hope you all like this one :D

* * *

Tim couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of Julie long enough to concentrate on the conversation going on around him.

After a few hours at the bridal shop being poked and prodded by the tailor, the group had headed out to grab a few drinks. Mindy had dropped the kids off at her mother's and picked up Billy before joining the rest of the group at the bar.

Tim half listened to Landry giving Billy accounting tips for his business, while his gaze zeroed on the ladies as they stood beside the bar waiting on their drinks.

Specifically Julie.

She wasn't dressed flashy – just a dark pair of jeans and a simple, blue shirt – but she filled out both very nicely, and he sure as hell couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her.

Though that was nothing new. Even back when they were in high school, Tim had always kind of watched her from afar. She was both beautiful and tempting.

She had always been that forbidden fruit that he had wondered about, and fantasized about scoring with, but had never tried. She had been so different from any other girl at Dillon High. And it wasn't just that she was the Coach's daughter.

She carried herself in a way that made her almost untouchable, which probably came off as snooty to many people. But Tim had found out first hand that she wasn't snooty, right the opposite really.

She had always been open with him, accepting him as he was – flaws and all. And he had found that once you got to know her she was actually pretty funny with her sarcastic remarks, and of course she was world's ahead of him in the intelligence department.

While they had talked some during high school, and could possibly be considered 'friends', he had never pursued anything more than that for fear of death by Coach and Mrs. Taylor, but also because there was always part of him that enjoyed having that one thing that was kind of mysterious and untouched – something he had to think about on those rare nights when he had found himself alone and sober.

And of course he had thought about her over the years, hearing bits of information from her family or other friends through the years. It was almost a little surreal to have her suddenly back in town and spending so much time with her.

Though he definitely wasn't complaining.

"Tim." Billy said loudly, breaking into Tim's thoughts.

"Yeah." Tim drawled, tearing his gaze away from Julie to look at his brother.

"Have you heard a word we've been sayin'?" Billy asked, giving him a frustrated look.

"Not really." Tim replied slowly, receiving a laugh from Landry.

Billy shook his head, opening his mouth to say something, but stopping as he saw the ladies approaching the table.

"Here you go, honeybun." Mindy said sweetly, placing another beer in front of Billy and taking the seat beside him.

"Thanks, baby." Billy drawled, reaching over to drop a kiss on her lips.

Tim smirked. His brother and sister-in-law were no strangers to public displays of affection, that was for sure.

"Did you drop the kids off at mom's?" Tyra asked as she slid into the empty seat beside Landry.

"Yeah, they were happy to be goin' to Grammy's house." Mindy said with a laugh.

"Yeah, Grammy is right up there with Uncle Tim in the fun department." Tyra drawled, giving Tim a stern look.

"What?" Tim asked, giving Tyra a smirk. "I can't help it if the kids love me, Collette." Tim looked over at Julie, giving her a grin as he continued to tease Tyra.

"I just don't think it's fair that I always have to be mean Aunt Tyra while you get to be cool Uncle Tim." Tyra replied, taking a long draw off her bottle of beer.

Tim grinned. It was true that he probably didn't discipline his niece and nephew as much as he should, but he loved them. And besides, that was Mindy and Billy's job most of the time – he just got to be the fun one in the kids' eyes.

"Well, let me make it up to you, Tyra." Tim drawled, motioning the waitress over to their table. "Let me get a round of tequila shots for all my friends here. Well, except for the soon-to-be mama of three over there." He said, giving Mindy a wink.

In a matter of seconds, the waitress was back, placing shot glasses and a bottle of tequila on the table. Tim poured a round for everyone except Mindy, before raising his glass into the air.

"Here's to mean aunt Tyra and her soon-to-be husband, my buddy, Landry Clarke. Cheers." Tim finished, clinking his shot glass with everyone else's, a tingle running up his arm as his fingers brushed against Julie's as their glasses met.

He glanced her way, watching as she tilted her head back and downed the shot, her eyes closing and the muscles in her slender neck moving as she swallowed the fiery liquid.

Tim shook his head, quickly downing his own shot of tequila. When was the last time he got turned on by a woman's neck?

Never, he thought as he slammed his shot glass down on the table.

"Let's have another." Julie said quickly, surprising both him and all the others at the table. "What? You've never seen a woman who likes tequila shots?" She asked with a small laugh, brushing her hair out of her face.

Tim grinned, pouring everyone another round. "Well yeah, but it's a little odd seein' little Julie Taylor requesting another round."

Tyra snorted. "Tim, there's a lot you don't know about our little Julie here. She's not so little anymore." Tyra said with a grin.

"Yeah…" Tim drawled, giving Julie a long look. "I'm startin' to see that, Tyra." He said softly, smiling as he watched Julie bite her lip as her face flushed at his words.

"Uh, what's this toast to?" Julie asked, changing the subject as she tore her gaze away from Tim's.

"You wanted the round, you make the toast." Billy said with a laugh.

"Alright, here's to coming home and spending good times with good friends. Cheers!" Julie finished.

"Cheers." Tim muttered, enjoying the tingling sensation as once again Julie's hand brushed against his own.

The evening continued with lots of laughter and a few more rounds of tequila. Poor Mindy got tired of bein' left out and eventually persuaded Billy out on the dance floor.

Landry and Tyra soon followed, leaving Tim and Julie sitting at the table by themselves.

Tim glanced over at Julie, noticing her gazing almost longingly out at the dance floor. It was obvious that she wanted to be out there dancing too.

"Do you still dance?" He asked, remembering that Julie had taken dance lessons back in high school.

There had definitely been more than one time when he had admired her toned-dancer legs.

Julie shook her head, turning to give him a smile. "Not really. Not enough time."

"Are you tellin' me that you're not hittin' those hot New York City dance clubs all the time, Taylor?" He asked with a smirk, enjoying teasing her.

Julie snorted, shaking her head. "Not hardly. And what do you know about New York City dance clubs?" She asked slyly, giving him a curious look.

Tim shrugged, a grin on his lips. "Just what I see on television." He drawled, smiling at the way her laughter sounded so good to his ears.

"You wanna dance?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

He wasn't much of a dancer himself, but he could tell she wanted to dance. He could see it in her eyes. And he wasn't an idiot either. He wasn't gonna pass up the chance to have her in his arms.

"Do you want to?" She asked, giving him a skeptical look.

"I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't." Tim grinned, standing and holding out his hand to her.

Julie grinned, brushing her long hair behind her ear as she placed her hand in his. Tim knew he probably had a shit-eating grin on his face as he led her out to the dance floor, but he couldn't seem to stop smiling.

And that smile only got bigger as he placed his arms loosely around her waist, pulling her closer as he felt her small hands on his shoulders.

"Don't hurt me if I step on your toes." He mumbled, feeling her chuckle as she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"I doubt that'll happen. If I remember correctly, you were always pretty good on your feet." She smirked, her cheeks flushed a pretty pink.

Tim was pretty sure the flush was from the four tequila shots, but part of him hoped that his nearness had a little something to do with it.

"That was on the field, Taylor. That's a whole different story." He replied, grinning down at her.

Julie just grinned, placing her head on his chest and sliding her hands around to the back of his neck as they continued slowly shuffling back and forth.

As they moved together slowly, Tim trailed his hand up and down her back lightly, enjoying the feel of her fingers playing idly with his hair at the nape of his neck.

He wasn't even sure if she was aware that she was doing it, but it was playing havoc with his hormones.

He remembered first hand how Julie tended to get a little languid and flirty when she had liquor. Not that he was complaining – as long as he was the one on the receiving end of those actions.

Tim tightened his arms around her waist, trying to control the urges rushing through his body as he held her close.

She was perfect. Simply perfect. She fit perfectly in his arms, her curves melding to his, and Tim felt certain that he'd never smelled anything sweeter than Julie Taylor.

She was a perfect handful of sweet, soft skin and long, silky hair.

And he knew first-hand how soft her skin felt.

When she had walked out from behind that rack of clothes earlier in the day, looking too hot for words, and asked him to zip her up – Tim had struggled with that one little request.

He didn't want to zip her up. No, he wanted take that dress off and see if she was as soft everywhere as she was on her back as his fingers had grazed her skin as he slowly pulled the zipper up.

He had noticed the goosebumps on her skin, and knew that like it or not, Julie was affected by him, just as he was by her.

Which shouldn't be a surprise considering his reputation with the ladies, but it was different because it was Julie.

"Tim, I can practically hear the wheels turning in that head of yours. What are you thinkin' so hard about?" She asked, the words muffled against his chest as her question took him off guard.

Okay, maybe she wasn't as buzzed as he had thought.

"Nothin' really." He drawled, knowing that he sure as hell couldn't tell her what was really going on in his head. He didn't want to get slapped in the face.

"Just thinkin' how funny Mindy and Billy look dancing together with her belly stuck out like that." He said as he motioned his head toward the other couple.

Julie turned her head, laughing quietly as she saw what Tim meant. Mindy's large belly made it pretty much impossible for she and Billy to get real close to one another.

"Poor Mindy." Julie said with a chuckle, meeting Tim's gaze.

Tim smiled down at her, once again loving the way that her laughter reached her eyes, making her look as pretty as could be and making his heart beat kick up a couple of notches.

He wasn't sure how or when, but Julie had awakened something in him – something he hadn't felt in a good long time, if ever.

It wasn't merely lust, even though that was definitely a big part of it. It was something more. Something that he really couldn't put his finger on, but it was becoming more and more apparent, that it was going to be hard for Tim to keep his hands to himself over the next few weeks.

He felt pretty sure that he was developing some sort of feelings for the pretty blonde in front of him.

Feelings that he felt sure were only going to lead to trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter. I always try to take what you ladies say into consideration, and it's always appreciated :D Hope you all enjoy this next bit of Tim and Julie time. And hope you ladies have a great weekend! Enjoy :D

* * *

There was a hint of chill in the air as Friday night finally rolled around, the first sure sign that maybe – finally - Autumn was on its way to Texas.

Though no one had a chance to get cold as they stood in the stands at Hermann Field, packed in closely and cheering wildly for their beloved Panthers.

With a little over five minutes left in the game, the Panthers were up by a touchdown, and there was a mix of excitement and anxiety in the air –excitement at being ahead but worry over whether or not the Panthers could maintain the lead.

Julie glanced over at her mother and Gracie, smiling at Gracie's "Go Panthers" painted on her cheek.

Julie could remember being her age and loving going to games, until somewhere around those hormonal pre-teen years when she had started to put up a fuss.

She had began to enjoy it more again in high school, mostly because of her relationship with Matt, and wanting to be there to support him.

Now standing there so many years later, she found herself realizing that it was more than just a football game. It was the feeling of unity and camaraderie with the community, with literally everyone in the town agreeing, and coming together to support their boys.

She was learning day by day, and much to her surprise, that there were some things that she really missed about being in the small town of Dillon. It seemed that football and that sense of unity was one of them.

As the Panthers took a time-out, her eyes scanned the field, falling on a tall figure bending over to pick up a water bottle and throw it to a player.

That was definitely Tim. She'd know that tight, fine backside anywhere. She had gotten a very up close and personal look at it in the dressing room earlier in the week.

She had been a little surprised to find out that he would be on the sidelines during the game. Apparently he helped her dad out occasionally keeping stats throughout the game, or so her mother had said.

Her mother had also mentioned something about Tim watching game tapes and doing some pre-game scouting for her dad, something else that Julie hadn't known about Tim.

It seemed that she was finding out more and more about Tim, and so far everything she had found out only made him more likeable.

She wasn't surprised that Tim had managed to make a good life for himself – she had always known that he had a lot of potential.

Well, maybe she was a little surprised that he had actually chosen to act on that potential. The Tim she remembered had always been a little lazy when it came to anything besides football.

But here he was – all grown up and doing pretty damn well from what she could tell.

He had a good job. Hell, he was the co-owner of a successful business.

And he had his own place. Though she had yet to see it, Tyra said that it was a nice little spot out on the lake.

And he of course still had those good looks working for him. Part of Julie was very surprised that some local lady hadn't already snatched him up and staked their claim, while the other part of her found it easy to picture Tim as the classic bachelor.

Almost as if he felt her eyes on him, he turned meeting her gaze.

Busted.

For like the third time, Julie thought silently. Her eyes had had a hard time staying away from Tim throughout the game.

Julie had never been really good at knowing when guys were flirting with her. Her college buddies had ragged her endlessly about being clueless to guys coming on to her.

But she was pretty sure that Tim had been flirting with her a lot throughout the week.

And what was more surprising, was that she had actually found herself flirting back a few times – something she didn't do a whole lot of.

I guess grown up Tim just brings out that side of me, she thought silently as his instant grin made her breath catch a little as she gave him a small wave and a smile of her own.

He acknowledged her with a quick nod of his head and another heart-stopping smile before turning back to the field as the time-out ended and the players trotted back out to finish the game.

Julie smiled, turning her gaze back to the field as well.

Maybe she should add admiring Tim to that list of things to like about small town life in Dillon.

* * *

As Tim stood on the field, looking around at the empty stands, he couldn't help but feel a little bitter sweet.

The Panthers had just won a hard-fought game, beating Laramie in overtime. It had been a real nail-biter, and Tim had loved every damn minute of it, especially being on the sidelines and right there in the mix of the action.

Tim had tried his best to stay focused on the game, but he couldn't help but let his eyes wander to the stands, his gaze colliding with Julie's more times than he could count.

It was craziness. They hadn't spoken to one another, but had exchanged several smiles, and Tim had been aware of where she was at all times.

It was like he had grown some kind of Julie-radar or something, his body instinctively knowing when she was near him.

"You daydreaming about your glory days Riggins?" Tim heard from behind, turning to see Julie leaning against the fence with a smile on her face.

Okay, maybe his Julie-radar didn't always work perfectly, he thought, surprised to see her standing there.

"Maybe a little." Tim said with a grin, walking toward her slowly, stopping when he reached the fence separating the two, sliding his hands in his pockets to keep from doing something stupid, like reaching out for her.

"You miss it." Julie said quietly, more of a statement than a question, looking up into his eyes.

"I miss being a Panther. Watching the boys play always makes me a little nostalgic I guess." He said with an almost sheepish grin. "Playing here always made me feel, I don't know, like I was part of something. Like I was accomplishin' something." He said shaking his head as he turned to lean his back against the fence. "That probably sounds crazy."

"No, it doesn't." Julie said quietly, leaning her arms on the fence, her shoulder brushing up against his. "I kind of understand what you mean. I mean, I was never on the team, but I was just thinking earlier tonight how it felt nice to be at the game, and have that sense of camaraderie with everyone."

"Yeah." Tim agreed quietly. He knew what she meant. "Do you remember what you said when you ended your speech at graduation? You said something about no matter where everyone ended up in life, that they would always be a Panther at heart and carry a little bit of Dillon with them. Do you remember that?" He asked, looking at her intently.

"Yeah…" Julie said giving him a small smile. "Though I'm kind of surprised that you do. What were you doin' at my graduation anyway?" She asked, giving him a funny look.

Tim shrugged. "I dunno. I had quit college by then and had nothing better to do. Why not come see a few old teammates and buddies off." He said easily.

Though those words weren't exactly true.

Tim had graduated a year ahead of Julie, so there had been no reason for him to go to her graduation. But he had ended up there anyways, telling himself the same excuse that he had just given Julie.

But he had known then, just as he did now, that he had gone to see her. To listen to her valedictorian speech and see her one last time before she moved on to bigger and better things.

Part of Tim had always known that Julie was too big for the town of Dillon. With all her intelligence and her love of dance and music and all that other cultural stuff he didn't get, he had always known that she would leave after graduation. And he had wanted to see her before that happened.

"I can't believe you remembered me sayin' that." Julie mumbled, throwing him another curious look, as if she really couldn't fathom that he would remember such a thing.

She'd be surprised all the things he remembered about her.

Tim chuckled softly. "Those words just always stuck with me." He said with a sweet smile. "As did how hot you looked in that blue cap and gown you were wearing." He said playfully, his sweet smile quickly changing into a lecherous grin.

"Yeah right." Julie said with a small laugh, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "It's impossible for anyone to look good in those hideous things."

Tim had to disagree. She had looked pretty damn cute.

"I didn't know that you kept the stats on Friday nights." She said offhandedly, changing the subject.

Tim nodded slightly. "I do sometimes. It helps Coach out, and it gives me an excuse to be on the field, instead of just looking like I'm trying to relive my high school days." He said with a smirk.

Julie smiled, resting her head on her crossed arms as they lay on the fence. "Your secret's safe with me." She said in a mock whisper, giving him a big grin.

"Thanks, Taylor." Tim replied with a grin of his own, feeling that odd little tug in his chest that he seemed to always get when she looked at him a certain way. "If you wanna share your secrets, I'll keep 'em safe too you know." He said teasingly, giving her arm a nudge.

She snorted quietly, shaking her head as she lifted it from her arms. "I don't have any secrets." She said sweetly, giving him her best innocent look.

"Well…" Tim drawled, tilting his head as he looked at her. "You'll probably have one or two after the bachelorette party tomorrow night." He said with a smirk.

"Don't remind me." Julie groaned, shaking her head once again. "I've been playin' referee between Tyra and Mindy about the party. For sisters, they are seriously complete opposites. Well, except for the stubbornness." She said with a grin.

Tim chuckled. The Collette sisters were something else. He knew that from first hand experience. "They're arguing over whether or not to get a stripper?"

"How'd you know?" She asked quickly. "Landry tell you?"

"Yeah, he mentioned that Tyra kept sayin' no, but than Min was hell bent on getting one anyway." Tim said with a smirk.

"That's pretty much right. I figure the stripper will show up despite Tyra's warnings, and then she'll get mad, and Mindy and all her hormones will get upset and cry. Tyra will then feel pretty shitty for making Mindy cry, and they'll hug and make up and then it'll all be down hill from there." Julie finished, giving him a short nod. "That's my theory anyway."

"Sounds about right." He nodded slowly, picturing the scene in his head.

"Tyra said y'all are going to the Landing Strip?" Julie asked as Tim nodded his head. "That's not real original is it? I mean, y'all could go to the Landing Strip any time."

Tim smirked, turning to lean his arms on the fence beside Julie, bringing his face near hers. "Well, why hire a stripper for a party, when we can go to the Landing Strip and have a ton of them all at the same time?" He asked with a grin.

He smiled as she rolled her eyes, the nearness giving him a clear view of the light, tiny freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. Even her freckles were sexy.

"That is such a guy thing to say." She replied, giving him a look.

"Well, I am a guy." Tim said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I noticed." Julie muttered quietly, giving him a smirk of her own.

Tim grinned, glancing down at his feet before looking back up and meeting her gaze. He was pretty damn sure that Julie Taylor was flirting with him.

And he liked it.

A lot.

"Hey Jules." Eric called, startling both Tim and Julie as they backed away from one another.

"Uh, hey dad." Julie called, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah. I finally got everybody out of the locker room." Eric said, walking up to the fence beside them. "Good game tonight wasn't it son?" He asked, giving Tim a grin.

Tim smiled. "Yes sir. It was."

"Now if we can just get by Arnett Meade next week." Eric said with a frown, running his fingers through his hair.

"You'll get 'em, Coach." Tim replied, giving him a short nod. "I'll get on those game tapes and get 'em back to you toward the beginning of the week."

"No hurry." Eric said, giving Tim a clap on the back. "You ready, Jules? Your mother and Gracie are waitin' in the car."

"Sure." Julie said quickly, turning toward Tim. "See yah, Tim. Try not to get into too much trouble tomorrow night." She smirked.

Tim chuckled. "I'll do my best, Taylor. You too."

Julie grinned, giving him a small wave before heading toward the parking lot with her dad.

Tim watched her walk away, admiring the womanly sway of her hips, and grinning at the tinkling sound of her laughter as she laughed at something Coach had said.

He sighed as he slipped his hands in his pockets, taking one last look out at the field before turning and heading toward his own truck.

It looked like he was going home alone yet again.

Well, maybe not entirely alone. He was pretty sure that Julie was going to be filling his thoughts as she had since she had set foot back in Dillon.

Thoughts were nice, but he wished that he was taking the real thing home.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Sorry for so long between updates! It's been a long week, and life's been pretty crazy, but I managed to finish this chapter today. Hope you ladies like it!

* * *

"The stripper should be here any minute now." Mindy whispered quietly, wiggling her eyebrows at Julie.

Julie sighed. "You told him to come anyway? Despite Tyra tellin' you repeatedly that she didn't want one?"

"Julie, it's a bachelorette party. Every girl needs a stripper at her bachelorette party. It's tradition." Mindy explained.

"Did you have one?"

"Well…no, but I didn't have party, I had a tea. It was much more classier." Mindy said with a grin. "Tyra's gonna kill me, but it'll be okay. She'll thank me one day."

Julie smiled slightly and shook her head. She wasn't so sure about that.

The party was in full swing – alcohol was flowing, the music was loud, and Tyra was getting ready to open her gifts.

Mindy had planned the party at her house, giving them pretty much free reign to be as loud as they wanted. There were only a handful of people there – maybe ten or eleven women.

Julie had never really noticed until now that Tyra really didn't have all that many friends that were girls. Other than she and Mindy, the party was mostly made up of Tyra's coworkers at Garrity Motors and a few friends from college.

"Okay, okay." Mindy said loudly, trying to get everyone's attention. "Time for Tyra to open her gifts." She said excitedly, sitting Tyra down in a chair in the center of the living room.

Julie grabbed her camera, knowing that she would be able to get some good pictures of Tyra while she was opening her gifts.

Tyra opened the first gift and immediately burst out laughing. "What the hell?" She asked loudly, pulling out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, a whip, and a skimpy nightie.

"Hey, those handcuffs work really well, Ty. Trust me, I know." Laura, one of Tyra's coworkers, called out, causing the ladies to erupt into laughter.

Julie laughed along with the others as Tyra opened gift after gift, a pile of lingerie and underwear growing higher and higher with each present.

"Last one." Mindy said, passing Tyra a white box with a pink bow.

"That one's from me." Julie called, giving Tyra a smile.

"Should I be scared to open this?" Tyra asked playfully, arching her eyebrow at Julie as she tore the bow off and opened the box. "Ah, Jules. It's beautiful." Tyra said softly, pulling out the black silk robe.

"I figured that you'd get plenty of lingerie, so I figured I would get you something to cover up with. You know, on those rare occasions when you and Landry won't be in bed." Julie said with a grin.

"Thanks, Jules." Tyra said with a genuine smile. "Thanks to everybody. Y'all are great, really. I love everything." Tyra finished, turning toward the door as someone knocked.

Here it comes, Julie thought to herself, quickly looking toward Tyra as Mindy went to open the door.

Julie shrugged her shoulders in a defeated motion and gave Tyra a small smile as Mindy opened the door to reveal a good-looking guy dressed as a police officer.

"Can I help you?" Mindy asked loudly, stepping back to allow the man into the house.

"Yes mam, we got a disturbance call. Apparently you ladies have been making too much noise tonight." He said slowly, scanning his eyes around the room of women.

"Sorry about that officer." Mindy said with a grin.

"Well, I'm afraid that sorry's not good enough, mam." He said, taking a few steps toward Tyra. "I'm gonna have to take things into my own hands and figure out a way to quiet you ladies down."

That must have been the code word or something, because at that moment Mindy started a new song on the cd player and the 'officer' began taking off his clothes as he stood as close to Tyra as he could get.

Julie had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud at the look on Tyra's face. She snapped several pictures, wanting to be able to show Tyra what she had looked like in the moment.

The ladies were squealing and laughing as the guy stripped down to only a black pair of skimpy briefs, giving Tyra a lap dance all the while. Mindy began throwing dollar bills at the guy, as did several of the other ladies, while Tyra's face was as red as Julie had ever seen it.

He was a good-looking guy, muscular and tanned. But he wasn't near as good-looking as Tim.

Julie shook her head. Tim? Why was she thinking of Tim? Why would she compare this guy to Tim?

Because you haven't been able to get him out of your head all week, Taylor, she thought silently as she snapped a few more pictures, as the guy's striptease came to an end.

Julie couldn't help but laugh as the guy gathered his clothes and several bills that were scattered on the floor before giving Tyra one final shake of his hips and exiting the house.

"I had nothing to do with this." Julie said quickly, holding up her hands as she noticed the look that Tyra was giving her.

"I cannot believe I just had a half-naked stranger straddling my lap and shaking his business in my face." Tyra said in a deadpan voice, looking at Julie for several seconds before they both burst out laughing.

"The look on your face." Julie sputtered in between giggles. "Oh my god, I can't wait to get these pictures developed so you can see the look on your face."

"No, no, no." Tyra said quickly, shaking her head. "You cannot get those pictures developed, Jules. Ever."

"See, wasn't that fun?" Mindy asked, coming to stand beside Tyra.

"I don't know if 'fun' is the word I would use." Tyra said with a grin, wrapping her arm around Mindy's shoulder. "But it wasn't as bad as I had imagined."

"Of course it wasn't bad. Stephen's a cutie." Mindy said quickly. "I've got connections." She said with a grin, causing Julie and Tyra to start laughing again.

Not long after that, the party began to die down as the women began to leave. Working together, it didn't take the three of them very long to get everything cleaned up and they were soon loading all of Tyra's gifts into her vehicle.

"It's only 10:30." Tyra said, closing the trunk of her car and turning to look at Julie and Mindy. "That's still early."

"Yeah, your friends aren't real late partiers." Mindy said with a grin.

"Let's go crash the boys' party." Tyra said with a smirk.

"You want to go to the Landing Strip?" Julie asked, surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, why not? You know the boys are still there and there's no tellin' what they're doing." Tyra said.

"You don't trust Landry?" Julie asked with a grin.

"Oh, I trust Landry just fine. I don't trust Tim." Tyra replied. "He's probably already paid for five or six lap dances for Landry by now." She said with a frown.

Julie laughed. "I thought you said that Tim had changed."

"He has changed…" Mindy began.

"But he's still a guy." Tyra finished with a grin. "Come on, let's go."

Julie shook her head as she hopped into Tyra's car. It looked like this night was only going to get more interesting.

* * *

Julie followed along behind Mindy and Tyra as they entered the Landing Strip, her head ringing from the loud music and smoky atmosphere.

She still couldn't believe that Tyra had wanted to come here. Julie would have much rather hung out at Mindy's house for a little while longer.

"There they are." Mindy said loudly, motioning across the room to a spot in the corner where Landry, Billy, Tim, and several other guys were gathered.

"Ah, hell." Tyra said loudly, causing Julie to follow her friends gaze toward the busty brunette currently straddling Landry's lap.

"Now Tyra, don't forget that it wasn't that long ago that you had a guy doin' the same thing to you." Julie said quickly, trying to talk some sense into her friend.

Tyra snorted, but didn't say a word as the ladies made their way toward the men. Julie couldn't help the laugh that escaped as she watched Landry's face as he noticed Tyra approaching.

"Hey guys." Mindy said loudly, busting up in between the guys to take a seat beside Billy, still completely comfortable there despite her many years away from the establishment.

"B-baby, what are y'all doin' here?" Landry asked, practically shoving the brunette out of his lap.

"Oh, just thought we'd drop in and see what y'all were up to." Tyra said with a quick, fake smile. "Apparently you're having a blast."

"Aw, they're just goofing around. Nothing's goin' on. I swear." Landry said quickly, wrapping his arms around Tyra's waist and pulling her close.

Julie smirked as she watched Landry trying to save his ass from the wrath of Tyra, jumping as she felt someone wrap their arm around her waist.

"Hey, Taylor." Tim smirked, giving her hip a squeeze.

"God Tim. You scared me." Julie said in a rush, pushing her hair behind her ear as she looked up at him.

"Sorry." He replied, clearly not sorry at all as his hand remained on her hip. "So are y'all crashin' the party?" Tim asked, giving her a grin as he took a drink from his bottle.

"I guess you could say that. I think Tyra was worried about you getting Landry liquored up and buying him lap dances." Julie said with laughter, watching as Tim smirked but didn't deny the statement.

"Just havin' some fun. He needs a little fun before he gets tied down."

"Yeah, tied down. The ole ball and chain, huh?" Julie asked sarcastically, her voice sounding a tad more bitter than she had planned.

"I didn't say that, Taylor." Tim said, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know that it would be that bad really."

Julie searched Tim's face, not really sure what he meant by that statement. Surely Tim Riggins wasn't telling her that it wouldn't be a bad idea to be tied down.

"What does that mean?"

"I dunno. That maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get married. You know, always havin' someone there for you. Comin' home to somebody at the end of a long day." He said softly, shrugging his shoulders as he looked away.

Julie could tell that he was slightly embarrassed at having said something so personal. It was in that moment that Julie realized that she wasn't the only one feeling a little left out from all the weddings and couples.

Tim was lonely too, and shocking as it was – it seemed that Tim longed for that special someone to settle down with just as she did.

Julie was sure that her heart melted just a little at that moment. Why, oh why, did Tim keep doing and saying things that made her just want to throw her arms around him and make a fool out of herself?

Tim cleared his throat, trying to rebound from the awkward silence that his statement had left between them. "Well, uh…" He started to say, only to be stopped by Julie's hand on his arm.

"Don't worry about it, Tim. I know what you mean about the whole needing somebody thing. I'm usually fine, but all this lovey-dovey business the past week or so has had me feeling pretty lonely myself." Julie said with a small smile, giving his arm a squeeze.

Tim glanced down at her hand on his arm before meeting her gaze and giving her a genuine smile. A smile that made her breath catch and her stomach feel as if she was riding a rollercoaster.

She licked her lips as she felt his fingers tighten on her hip. He was going to kiss her. She could tell from the way he was looking at her, and the way that he was slightly leaning forward, as if to ask if she was okay with it.

"Hey Jules." Mindy called, breaking the moment and pulling Julie's gaze away from Tim.

"Uh, yeah?" Julie stammered, dropping her hand from his arm and trying to collect her thoughts as she looked over at Mindy.

"Come help me carry these drinks, will yah? There's a lot of 'em." Mindy called, motioning Julie along after her as she made her way to the bar.

"I'll be back." Julie mumbled to Tim, instantly missing the feel of his hand on her hip as he dropped his hand to his side. She gave him a small shrug before turning and following along after Mindy.

Julie wasn't sure if she should be pissed at Mindy or appreciative for breaking up whatever moment she and Tim were having.

Because they were definitely having a moment. There was no doubt in Julie's mind that Tim had been about to kiss her. She just wasn't real sure exactly how she felt about that.

After waiting at the bar for several minutes, the bartender finally had all the drinks prepared and Mindy and Julie gathered the trays and made their way back toward the group.

Julie stopped short as she approached the guys and Tyra. Gone were the fluttery feelings she had felt toward Tim only moments ago as she watched him wrap his arm around a leggy redhead that was seated on his lap.

A stab of jealousy shot through her at the sight, making her want to throw her tray of drinks at both of them. She knew she had absolutely no right to be jealous, but that didn't stop the feeling.

She watched the redhead laugh at something he said, no doubt using that Riggins charm.

Julie made her way to the table, setting her tray down beside Mindy's as everyone began grabbing drinks. Julie grabbed a beer for herself and squeezed into the seat beside Tyra, intentionally not looking toward Tim.

But everywhere she looked there were half-naked women gyrating on poles. She finally looked down at her bottle, becoming intensely interested in the label.

Curiosity got the best of her, as she glanced up at Tim once again. This time the redhead was whispering something in his ear, but Tim didn't really look like he was listening as he had his gaze focused on Julie.

Trying her best to seem nonchalant and unaffected, Julie gave Tim a fake smile and tipped her bottle at him.

Tim smiled back, a slow sexy smile that made her toes curl, throwing in a slow wink just for good measure.

Damn him. He knew exactly what he was doing. She wasn't sure if he was intentionally trying to make her jealous, but he knew he was either way.

Julie shook her head slightly, turning her attention toward Tyra and Landry.

Tyra was right. Tim may have changed a lot over the years. But he was most definitely still a guy.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Looking for Love

A/N: Forgive me ladies - I know it's been a while since I updated this story and I sincerely apologize. I was sick for a while, then I had a birthday, and then there's always 'life' on top of all that. Hopefully you all are still interested in this story. I will definitely finish this story - I have it all mapped out in my head...it's just finding the time to transfer it from my head to the computer :D So, updates may be sporadic but I promise that I'm not going to leave you ladies hanging. I have big plans for these two! So, hopefully you all will enjoy this chapter :D

* * *

"Jules, when I get done with you, you are gonna look so pretty that you're gonna have boys beatin' down the door." Gracie said with a grin, adding a third layer of blue eye shadow to Julie's eyelid.

Julie grinned. She highly doubted that was true. She was pretty sure that men nowadays didn't go for the kind of makeover that Gracie was giving her.

But Julie didn't mind looking like a floozy if it meant getting to spend some extra time with her sister. Julie had already given Gracie a makeover and fixed her hair, only enhancing her beauty and leaving her looking a few years older.

She could already imagine the look on her dad's face when he saw Gracie, his baby, looking older. Not to mention when he saw her, his oldest, looking like a hooker.

Luckily this little makeover was just for fun before dinner and no one was going to see her.

"Where'd you hear that saying about boys beating down the door?" Julie asked, knowing that Gracie had probably heard it from their dad.

"Daddy says it all the time. That I'm as pretty as a picture and that he's gonna have to get the shotgun when the boys start trying to beat down the door." Gracie said with a giggle.

Julie smiled as she remembered many a time that her dad had said the same thing to her. Though he had never met the boys at the door with a shotgun, he had always managed to scare the hell out of most of the boys she brought home, particularly Matt.

Julie was enjoying her time back home, especially her time catching up with Gracie. Part of her felt like she had missed out on so much, and she was trying to go out of her way to do things to make it up to her. Hence the makeover.

It still felt weird being back in the house with her family. Julie had grown accustomed to living on her own, and after more than a week back, she was starting to feel a little antsy in the house with her family.

Not that she didn't love them, but there was a such thing as alone time – something that she had been lacking in the past week.

"Oh, I love this song." Gracie said, reaching over to turn the stereo up louder before turning back to Julie to put the final touches on the makeover. "I'm almost finished." Gracie said, pulling out a tube of bright red lipstick and applying it to Julie's lips. "There. All done. Look in the mirror."

Julie stood from the bed, walking toward the dresser mirror. It took all that she had not to burst out laughing at her appearance, but she held it in – not wanting to hurt her sister's feelings.

Gracie had curled her hair and pulled it half up, half down – leaving it looking like something straight out of the 80's. And the make-up was thick – layers of blue eye shadow, bright pink cheeks, and red hot lipstick. Julie looked like she could be working on a street corner.

Or a strip club, she thought, her mind wandering back to the party at the Landing Strip the previous weekend. Give her a skimpy see-through negligee, and she'd look like a shorter, blonder version of Tim's own personal dancer that he had that night.

Don't go there, Taylor, she warned herself. She wasn't sure why she was having all these feelings where Tim was concerned, much less knowing what to do with those feelings.

It was kind of funny in a way. During high school Tim had never really had an effect on her. Yes, he had been gorgeous – but she had always been kind of immune to that Riggins charm.

They had been friends, and that was more than enough for Julie.

But my how things had changed.

Yes, Tim was still gorgeous – maybe even more so than high school. But she definitely wasn't immune to his charm anymore. All he had to do was enter the room and she found herself getting a little breathless.

And all the flirting was driving her crazy, but it was fun too. It had been a while since she had enjoyed herself as much with a guy as she had with Tim the past few weeks.

Except for the whole stripper debacle of course. Just thinking about that was enough to make Julie irritated, once again wanting to knock that girl right off of Tim's lap, and then knock that little smirk right off of Tim's face.

"Well, what do you think, Jules?" Gracie asked expectantly, smiling brightly.

Julie smiled. "It looks great. Different, but good."

Gracie wrapped her arms around Julie's waist, giving her a squeeze. Julie returned the hug, thoughts of Tim leaving her mind as she once again started thinking about how nice it was to be able to spend time with her family.

"Come on. Let's go show mom and dad." Gracie said, turning off her stereo before taking Julie's hand and pulling her along behind her and out of the bedroom.

* * *

Tim knocked on the Taylor's door, taking a step back as he tightened his hold on the game tapes with one hand, while running his other through his long hair.

He had decided to stop by after work to drop of Coach's game tapes, in hopes that Julie would be at home too. Tim noticed her rental in the drive, so hopefully that meant she was here.

He hadn't seen her since she and the girls had crashed Landry's party, and he was pretty sure he was starting to have withdrawals. He didn't even want to think about how bad it was going to be whenever she headed back to New York.

He couldn't seem to get Julie Taylor out of his mind, much less the almost-kiss that they had shared before Mindy's big mouth had ruined it.

Tim smiled as the door opened, revealing a nice-looking Mrs. Taylor. Julie definitely got her good looks from her mother.

"Well hey, Tim." Tami drawled, a bright smile on her face.

"Hey, Mrs. Coach." Tim replied with a grin of his own. "I was just dropping off these game tapes. I know Coach needs 'em for that big game Friday."

"He's watching film right now." Tami said, rolling her eyes playfully. "Come on in, hun."

"Thanks." Tim muttered, following along behind her as they made their way past the kitchen.

"Honey, Tim dropped by with your game tapes." Tami called, stepping into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner.

"Hey son." Eric said from his spot on the couch. "Come on in and have a seat. I'm just watchin' some film." He said, motioning with his hand.

"Yeah, I was bringing these back to you." Tim replied, passing the game tapes to Eric before taking a seat in the plush armchair. Tim glanced down the hallway, hearing loud music blaring from somewhere.

"The girls are givin' each other facials or makeovers of something. Girl stuff." Eric muttered after noticing Tim's glance, shaking his head in a perplexed manner. "What can you tell me about Arnett Meade?"

Tim grinned at Eric's comment, happy to know that Julie was definitely there. "Well, 2-0 is definitely their star player, but their running back, Harris, is a hell of a player. He kind of flies under the radar, but our boys have gotta stop him."

Eric nodded slowly, scratching his chin. "I hadn't paid much attention to Harris, I'll have to watch 'em again. What about plays? You get any reads?"

"They only run the wildcat formation on anything under five yards, and they like to blitz a lot too. It may be a good idea to go no huddle on some plays this week." Tim said, trying to remember all the information he had gathered from watching Arnett Meade play previous opponents.

"That's good, that's good." Eric said slowly. "I'll get Mac on that no-huddle tomorrow with the boys."

Tim nodded his agreement, turning his head toward the hallway as he hears the loud music stop, followed shortly by a bedroom door opening.

"I appreciate the extra set of eyes on these tapes." Eric said, giving Tim a smile.

"No problem, Coach." Tim replied, giving Eric a genuine smile before turning his attention toward Julie and Gracie as they entered the living room.

Tim was sure that his jaw dropped several inches as his eyes came to rest on Julie. It was obvious from the big hair and gaudy make-up that Gracie had been the one fixing Julie up.

Tim definitely preferred his Julie – the normal-looking Julie – to this one. But damn, the woman still managed to look hot and get his heart kicking up a notch.

"Tim!" Julie said, surprise clear in her voice. "Uh, I didn't know you were here."

"Riggins dropped by to talk a little football." Eric said, turning around from his position on the couch and getting his first look and the new Julie. "What the hell?" Eric murmured, causing Tim to chuckle quietly.

"We did makeovers." Gracie said excitedly, grinning back and forth between Tim and Eric. "Julie did mine, and I did her's. Don't she look pretty?"

Eric cleared his throat, clearly trying to hold back a laugh. "She does honey, and you do too. Both of you look lovely."

It was hard to tell whether or not Julie was blushing from all the make-up on her face, but Tim could tell that she was embarrassed at having him see her this way.

"Don't you think she looks pretty, Tim?" Gracie asked, giving Tim a sweet smile.

"That she does, Gracie." Tim said softly, giving Julie a shit-eating grin. "That she does."

Tim chuckled as he clearly saw Julie blushing, averting her gaze to Tami as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready. Tim honey, do you want – Oh, Jules…" Tami said, coming to a halt as she spotted her oldest daughter. "Um, well honey that's a new look for you." She said, her eyes widening as she tried not to laugh.

"Gracie gave me a makeover." Julie said with a big, fake smile. "And I gave her one as well."

"Yeah, I told Julie that boys were gonna be beatin' down the door." Gracie said with a giggle, causing Julie to smile as well.

Tim didn't know about other boys, but he sure as hell would beat down a door to get to Julie – big hair and all.

"Cause I got the two prettiest daughters ever." Eric said, standing with a chuckle and dropping a kiss on Gracie's head, before placing one on Julie's forehead.

"Thanks, dad." Julie said with a smile.

"Girls, help me set the table will yah?" Tami asked. "Tim, would you like to stay for dinner? I was going to ask you that a few minutes ago but got, uh, sidetracked." She said, glancing back at Julie with a smile.

"Well, I hate to intrude." Tim said quickly, shaking his head slightly, hoping everyone couldn't hear his stomach growling from just the delicious smell of dinner.

"You're not intruding at all." Tami said, waving off the notion. "We've got plenty. I made spaghetti."

"Mama makes the best spaghetti." Gracie said excitedly, giving Tim a thumbs up.

Tim chuckled lightly, sharing a smile with Julie over Gracie's head. "Well, I definitely can't pass that up then can I?"

Dinners at the Taylor household were always a treat. Not only because Mrs. Coach was a helluva cook, but because the whole atmosphere was just comforting.

Tim had enjoyed the sense of family that the Taylor family dinners offered for the short time he had stayed with them in high school. And over the years he had dropped by to help Coach with various things and been invited to dinner, where he still felt that same sense of family.

Tonight's dinner was no different. There was good-natured fun and teasing – a lot directed toward Julie and her new look.

There was Mrs. Coach fussing at Coach for talking about football at dinner.

And Coach continuing to talk about it anyways.

And there was the sound of Julie's laughter making his gut clench and his pants fit a little too tightly.

Okay, maybe there was nothing comforting or family oriented about that last thought, but he couldn't help it. He was a guy after all.

After an enjoyable dinner, Tim watched some more film with Coach while the ladies cleaned up the kitchen before joining them in the living room. The group sat talking, jumping from one topic to another before someone mentioned Julie's photography.

Tim almost laughed at how quickly Tami jumped up to retrieve an album of Julie's photos. It was obvious to Tim that Mrs. T was extremely proud of her daughter's talents.

And talented she was. Tim took his time looking through the album of photos that Julie had taken over the years, several of which had been published in newspapers and magazines.

He had known that she was talented, but he hadn't expected them to be almost breathtaking. How was it possible to catch so many emotions in a single photo?

"Taylor, these are…wow." Tim said quietly, almost reverently as he looked up to find Julie watching him nervously, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"Some of those older ones aren't that good." She said quickly, licking her bright red lips.

Tim shook his head slowly, flipping another page in the album. "They're all good. Great actually. You're really talented, Jules." Tim said, giving her a smile, hoping to convey how much he truly meant that to her.

"Thanks." She replied, a sweet smile on her face.

What he wouldn't give to have her smiling at him like that all the time. Tim was pretty sure that he could die a happy man.

The rest of the evening passed by way too quickly for Tim's liking. Each moment he spent with Julie seemed to go by quickly and leave him wanting more.

"Well, I better be getting home. Thanks again for dinner Mrs. Coach. It was delicious." Tim said, standing from his spot on the couch.

"Anytime hun." Tami replied, smiling brightly.

"Take it easy, son. And thanks again for watching those films." Eric stated.

"No worries." Tim said with a shrug, turning to look toward Julie. "Taylor, you want to walk me out? I had a question to ask you about the wedding this weekend."

Tim watched Julie's eyebrows arch curiously as she stood and followed him out of the house. The two walked side by side toward his truck parked in the driveway.

Tim slid his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground as he tried to hide his grin from her.

He had no question to ask. He just wanted some alone time with her.

"Well?" Julie questioned, looking up at him as they came to a stop beside his truck.

"Well what?" He asked, intentionally playing dumb to aggravate her.

"You had a question. About the wedding." She said slowly, giving him a look.

Tim grinned. "I forgot."

Julie narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest, drawing Tim's eyes to her curves. The woman had a body to die for – he knew he'd gladly lay down his life for a chance to worship it.

"Have I mentioned that I really like this look you've got going on, Taylor?" He asked, smirking down at her as she rolled her eyes at his remark.

"Yeah, I bet you do. It seems like you like your women with big hair and gaudy makeup from what I've seen." Julie said in a rush, her voice sounding snippy to his ears.

Tim tilted his head, wondering for a second what she was referring to and why she seemed defensive. Then it hit him. She was referring back to the other night at the Landing Strip, obviously talking about the woman that had taken a liking to him.

Tim had known that Julie was watching, and maybe part of him had been flirting with the woman trying to make Julie jealous. From the look on her face it had apparently worked.

"What are you talkin' about?" He asked slyly, watching her face contort in a frustrated look that could only be described as adorable.

"Your little lap dance buddy the other night, Tim. Big hair. Big boobs. Big makeup." She said sarcastically, unconsciously attempting to flatten her own hair with her hand. "You sure seemed to be having a blast with her."

Tim grinned, rocking back on his heels. "You sound a little jealous there, Taylor."

Julie scoffed, recrossing her arms. "Please. Jealous of what? I was just making an observation, Tim."

Tim smiled, shaking his head slowly. "Nah, that sounds like jealousy to me."

Julie huffed and began to turn back toward the house, causing Tim's smile to turn into a full-fledged shit-eating grin as he took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on her shoulders to stop her.

"Hold up, Taylor." He murmured, trying to hold back a laugh. "You're pretty cute when you're angry."

"Tim…" Julie whined, giving him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

Tim chuckled, sliding his hands up her shoulders to her neck, tilting her head back gently as he leaned down closer to her.

"But I've come to the conclusion that you're pretty cute all the time, Jules." He murmured, finally giving in to his wants and placing his lips on hers for a kiss.

Tim felt her breath catch and her heart beat flutter beneath his fingertips as he brushed his lips softly against hers. She was sweet – as sweet as he had ever imagined.

It was as if Tim's brain was in sensation overload, as he tried to remember every little detail about the short kiss. And it was short – only a few seconds.

Way too short for his liking, but it was Julie Taylor. And he didn't know how she was going to react and he sure as hell didn't want to screw anything up with her.

Her 'friendship' was valuable to him – so he sure couldn't throw her up against the truck and do all the things that he imagined.

He slowly pulled back and dropped his hands to his sides, unable to control the grin on his face as he looked down at her licking her red lips.

Julie cleared her throat, glancing up at him almost bashfully, trying to tuck a piece of unruly hair behind her ear.

God, she was gorgeous.

Julie Taylor.

And he had kissed her – something he had dreamed of doing for years and years.

Tim chuckled, feeling better than he had felt in a good, long time. "Well, I'll see you, Taylor." He said softly, taking a step back and climbing into his truck.

He gave her a small wave as he pulled away from the curb, smiling as she gave him a small wave back.

His smile grew as he watched her in his rearview mirror, standing unmoving on the front lawn, a look of disbelief still on her face and a small smile on her sweet lips.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad that you ladies are still interested in this story! Here's an extra long chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy it :D

* * *

Julie ran her hands over her green dress, trying to get rid of the wrinkles with her hands but not succeeding. She should have ironed the dress before the wedding rehearsal, but hadn't had time. She had spent the day with Tyra and Mindy, getting all the last minute details in line for the wedding the following day.

She hurried up the church steps, already running a few minutes late for the wedding rehearsal. She breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped inside the church and saw several people just standing around talking.

"Hey girl." Tyra called, walking toward her. "Love the dress." She said quickly, giving Julie a grin.

"Thanks." Julie mumbled. "Sorry I'm a few minutes late."

"No problem. Matt and his fiancé are running a little late because their flight was delayed, and Tim called and said that he was running a little late too." Tyra said with a shrug. "Are you okay? You look frazzled."

Frazzled.

That was a good word to describe how Julie was feeling. Frazzled from worrying over the kiss that Tim had dropped on her lips and then rode off into the sunset, leaving her to wonder what the hell had just happened.

Frazzled from too much togetherness with her family and not having any space of her own for some much-needed alone time.

Frazzled from having to deal with all her emotions concerning her best friend getting married, while she was still all by herself.

"It's nothing. I just think I'm gonna need a vacation from this vacation once I return to New York." Julie said with a short laugh.

"What is it? Am I stressing you out with the wedding?" Tyra asked quickly.

"No, no. It's my family. I love them to death, and it's been great spending time with them…but, I'm used to living alone and having my own space. I'm starting to get antsy." Julie said with grin.

She hadn't mentioned the kiss to Tyra, or to anyone for that matter. She wasn't sure what it meant – if it even meant anything. And she didn't trust Tyra not to confront Tim about it. Julie wasn't ready for that.

"Well how 'bout you stay at our house while we're on our honeymoon?" Tyra said, smiling like she had just came up with the perfect plan.

Julie shook her head. "No, it's not that big of a deal."

"No, no. It'll be better for me and Landry too. You can look after the house and feed the cats. That way we won't have to pay to have them boarded for the week. And it works out well. We're coming home the same day you were planning on leaving, right?" Tyra asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan." Julie said slowly, thinking that it really did sound like a pretty good plan. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Landry will be glad too."

"Alright. Thanks, Tyra." Julie smiled.

"Girl, I should be thanking you." She said with a grin, both girls turning as the church doors opened, Matt and a petite brunette entering the building.

Julie paused, taking a good look at Matt. She hadn't seen him in a while, and hadn't talked to him in what seemed like ages. After his grandmother had passed away, he hadn't really had a reason to return to Dillon except for his occasional visits to see Landry.

He looked good. His hair was a little shorter and his shoulders looked a little broader, but he was still Matt. Well, Matt and a pretty girl attached to his arm.

"Are you okay?" Tyra murmured, giving Julie a close look.

Julie smiled. "I'm fine." She said quickly, waving off Tyra's concern. "Let's go say hello."

The girls made their way to the couple. Julie watched a smile come over Matt's face as he saw them approaching.

"Hi, Matt." Julie said brightly, giving him a smile, trying her best not to let him know how nervous she was feeling.

"Hey Julie." Matt replied, taking a step forward for an awkward hug. Julie wrapped her arms around him briefly, patting him on the back. She stood back as he said hello to Tyra and shared a hug with her as well before introducing his fiancé.

"Guys, this is Rachel. Rachel, these are some old friends of mine, Julie and Tyra."

"Very nice to meet you both." Rachel said sweetly, showing off her pearly white teeth.

She really was pretty. And she and Matt really made a cute couple. But Julie couldn't help but have all these emotions.

She wasn't jealous – she was way over Matt, and she was happy that he had moved on. But it was kind of bittersweet seeing him happy with someone else while she was still by herself.

Alone.

God, she was getting sick of that word.

"Hey, Tim." Tyra said, glancing around Matt and Rachel as Tim walked in the door and headed toward the group.

It was almost laughable in a way how Julie reacted to just the mention of Tim being in the room. Her stomach started fluttering, breathing became harder, and she felt her face becoming red and heated. And that was all before she set eyes on him.

"Hey Collette. Sorry I'm late. One of my guys was out sick today, and we were running behind at work." Tim explained, suddenly realizing that Matt was there. "Seven!" Tim said loudly, doing some guy handshake thing before pulling Matt in for a hug. "Good to see you man."

"Good to see you too, Riggins." Matt said with a laugh, pulling back. "Tim, this is my fiancé, Rachel. Rachel this is Mr. Tim Riggins. Heartbreaker Extraordinaire." Matt said with a grin.

Tim smirked at Matt's remark. "Nice to meet you." He said quietly, turning to look toward Julie.

Julie knew he was wondering how she was taking the whole Matt and his fiancé scene.

"Hey, Taylor." He said quietly, a look in his eye and a smile on his face that had her reliving the short kiss that they had shared.

From the look on his face, he was remembering it too.

He looked good. Really good. He had a dark pair of jeans that looked fairly new, and light blue polo shirt that looked way too good against his tanned skin.

Julie watched as Tim looked her over as well, obviously liking what he saw from the smirk on his face.

"Hey, Tim." She replied after several moments, suddenly realizing that she must look like an idiot standing there gawking at him.

Julie looked at Tyra, who was watching her with a confused look on her face.

Uh-oh. The last thing Julie needed was for Tyra to figure out that there was something going on between she and Tim. Not that there was…but…

"Matt!" Landry exclaimed, breaking into the group and giving Matt a huge hug, thankfully pulling Tyra's curious gaze away from she and Tim.

With everyone finally at the church, rehearsal got underway with Tyra placing everyone where they should be placed. Landry stood at the front of the church, Matt by his side as the best man, and Tim standing beside him.

The music began to play and Julie slowly made her way down the aisle, trying not to look at Tim, but not being able to help herself. He grinned, giving her a slow wink that made her blush as she averted her gaze and continued on to her spot.

Mindy followed along after her as the maid of honor, and Josh and Sara Jane looked adorable as the ring bearer and flower girl. Julie found herself getting a little teary-eyed at the sight of Tyra walking down the aisle with her mother at her side.

If she was getting emotional at the rehearsal, she knew she was going to be a basketcase for the actual wedding tomorrow.

The preacher skimmed over his lines, preparing Tyra and Landry for the appropriate time to say their vows, and finally concluding his part. Julie laughed as Landry laid a big kiss on Tyra's lips, playfully spinning her around before the two of them headed back down the aisle.

Josh and Sara Jane followed close behind as Matt took Mindy's arm and led her down the aisle slowly, leaving only her and Tim.

Julie smiled as Tim took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, leaving his large hand covering her own.

"Save the best for last." Tim murmured, causing Julie to giggle as the two of them slowly made their way down the aisle.

How could he be so incredibly hot and completely adorable all at the same time? Tim Riggins was truly something else.

Julie felt like her whole body was tingling as she walked beside him, her body pressed closely with his. She wanted to say something about the kiss, but Tim seemed to be pretending like nothing had happened.

Maybe to him it was nothing. Just another kiss with another girl in a long line of Tim followers. Maybe she should just let it go herself and not worry about it.

She couldn't hold back a sigh as they arrived at the group, as she no longer had an excuse to be that close to Tim. She slowly disengaged her arm from his, pleasantly surprised as Tim captured her hand and held it with his own, lacing his long fingers with hers.

Julie glanced down at their joined hands before glancing up at Tim's face. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Tyra as she began inviting everyone to her house for the rehearsal dinner. But he had a smirk on his face, knowing full well that his move had surprised her.

Julie turned toward Tyra, trying to at least look like she was paying attention as she grinned widely, giving Tim's hand a squeeze.

* * *

"Remember that shuffle pass we ran back at State? Man, that was a sweet move." Matt said with a smile, shaking his head.

Tim nodded in agreement, smiling as he stood with Matt, Landry, and Billy in Tyra and Landry's backyard.

Tyra and Landry had decided to forego the traditional rehearsal dinner with a gathering of friends at their house.

Tim was glad. He would much rather be helping Landry grill burgers and reminiscing about old times than sitting in some uppity restaurant.

He took a sip of his beer as Billy launched into a story about his team going to state, a story that Tim had heard at least a hundred times.

His eyes scanned the yard, falling on Julie as she stood on the other side of the patio, arranging plates and utensils on the large table set up for the guests.

To him, Julie always looked good, but there was something about that green dress and way her skin was glowing by the light of the tiki torches that just made her more beautiful than usual.

Not a word had been spoken about the kiss. Tim couldn't help but wonder what was going on in that pretty head of hers.

Was she thinking about it as much as he had? Was she hoping for another one? Or did she think of it as just a friendly kiss? A one time deal?

Tim felt pretty sure that she wasn't mad. They hadn't spoken much at the church earlier, but they had passed so many smiles between them that everyone had to have seen them. And he was sure everyone was probably wondering why he had a constant goofy grin on his face.

And he had entangled her fingers with his own after walking down the aisle. He hadn't really thought about doing it – it just happened as he realized that he didn't want to lose her touch. He enjoyed it way too much.

"Burgers are done." Landry announced loudly, bringing Tim's thoughts back to the present. "Help me carry these to the table, will yah, Tim?" Landry asked, passing Tim a platter of burgers.

"Sure." Tim replied, taking the tray and making his way toward the table. In a matter of minutes the table was covered with food and drinks as everyone took a seat.

Tim watched Julie as she stood, biting her bottom lip as she looked around the table, eyeing the seating arrangement almost nervously. There were a few empty seats at the other end of the table near Matt and his new lady love.

Tim could tell from watching Julie throughout the evening, that it was weird for her seeing Matt again. Not to mention that fact that he was now with someone else. Tim just hoped that it was an awkwardness from not seeing each other, and not an awkwardness because Julie still had feelings for him. From the look in her eyes as she watched Matt and Rachel laughing, Tim had to wonder.

"Taylor, I saved you a seat down here." Tim called, motioning to the seat beside him.

Tim could see the relief wash over Julie's face at his invitation. She smiled as she slid into the seat next to him, pushing her long hair behind her ears.

"Thanks." She said softly.

"No worries." Tim replied, stretching his arm out over the back of her chair. "You looked like you needed an out." He said quietly, shrugging his shoulders.

Julie laughed softly. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"No. Probably not to anyone else." Tim said, trying to assure her. "You just looked like you would rather poke your eyeball out than sit with Saracen and Robin, and I thought I'd invite you over here."

Julie laughed, the sound making him smile. "First off, her name is Rachel, not Robin. And secondly, if you could tell that I felt that way, I'm sure everyone else can too."

"I doubt it. I can read you like a book, Taylor." He said with a smirk.

"Oh really…" She said with a grin. "Well, what am I thinkin' right now?"

Tim scratched his chin, playfully pretending to ponder the thoughts of Julie's mind. "You're thinking that there's no way I could know what you're thinkin'."

"Wrong." Julie laughed, shaking her head, causing her long locks to tickle his arm.

"Okay…you're thinking that I look really hot tonight." He said with a smirk.

Julie snorted. "Conceited much?" She asked playfully, shaking her head. "Nope. Not right."

"Are you sure? Because that's what I was thinking."

"That you look really hot tonight? Wow, your ego must be enormous, Tim." Julie said with a laugh.

Tim chuckled, giving her hair a playful tug. "I meant that I was thinkin' that you look really hot tonight. Like, smokin' hot." He said softly, smiling down at her.

He watched her cheeks pinken, as she licked her lips nervously. He wanted to kiss her right here in front of everybody. And he knew that she was thinking the same thing.

"Do you really want to know what I was thinking?" She asked after a few seconds of silence, giving him a sweet smile.

Tim nodded slowly, trailing his fingers slowly across the bare skin of her shoulder.

"I was thinking that I'm really glad that I had you to rescue me, and that you've been here to keep me laughing and enjoying my stay at home. And I'm really thankful for it. That's what I was thinking." Julie finished, a smile on her lips.

Tim felt his chest tighten as she stared at him with that sweet, thankful look on her face. As if he had done something truly great. All he had done was do his best to get close to her – a purely selfish move – but here she was somehow thanking him for it.

"You're welcome, Jules." He answered softly, both of them sharing a smile before the moment passed and they began eating their dinner and talking with the other guests.

* * *

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this, Eight-Five?" Tim asked playfully, giving Landry a grin. "There's still time to back out." He said as he stood with Landry and Matt in a small room off the front of the church as they waited for the wedding to begin.

"Shut up, Tim." Landry replied with a nervous chuckle, causing them all to laugh.

Tim could tell that Landry was nervous, which was to be expected. Tim felt pretty sure he would be nervous too if he was about to take such a big step.

Though he couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy for his good buddy and the happiness that he had found with Tyra. And little Matty Saracen was engaged as well, though he had told Tim that they hadn't set a date yet.

Tim took a deep breath, shaking off the feeling of loneliness. He needed some action. Something more than a hot, short kiss from Julie Taylor.

Maybe he could try and pick up a girl at the wedding reception and let off some steam later on tonight. It wouldn't be Julie, but he could use his imagination. He'd done it countless times before.

"We're ready to begin gentlemen." The preacher said, sticking his head inside the room.

"Here we go." Matt said with a grin, ushering Landry toward the door.

Tim grinned as he clapped Landry on the back and followed the boys out the door and into the main part of the church. Tim took his place beside Matt at the front of the church, letting his gaze roam across guests sitting on the pews.

The church was packed. Apparently Landry and Tyra had invited the whole town of Dillon to view their nuptials.

Tim turned his attention toward the back of the church as the music began playing. Julie walked out first, looking like a vision in her turquoise dress, her long hair pulled up in some sort of girly up-do, causing his brain to run wild with ideas of leaving hot kisses all over her lovely, exposed neck.

He distinctly remembered zipping that dress up for Julie in the dressing room a few weeks ago. He still desperately wanted to unzip it and find out what laid underneath.

Her gaze met his, and Tim realized that he had no control where Julie was concerned, as her sweet smile sent his heart racing and made his palms sweaty. He smiled back, watching as she took her place across the aisle.

Mindy followed, waddling down the aisle slowly. Tim was no doctor, but he felt certain that Mindy would be having his next niece or nephew any day now.

Sara Jane and Josh came next, both looking adorable in their wedding garb. Tim loved those kids to death, and he was so proud of Billy for what he had accomplished.

Tim looked forward to the day when he could have a couple of kids of his own. Hopefully they'd be as cute as Josh and Sara Jane, and maybe a little less rambunctious.

The congregation stood as the wedding march began, all eyes turning toward Tyra and Angela, her mother, as they began their way down the aisle. Tyra looked gorgeous in her white gown, and Tim couldn't help but think once again that Landry was a lucky man.

Tim was happy for Tyra too. They had a long history, and Tyra hadn't always had things easy in life. She definitely deserved to be happy, and from the smile on her face as she took her place beside Landry – she was happy.

Tim tried to stay focused on the preacher's words as he spoke, instructing the happy couple of what to say. He listened as the preacher spoke of love and trust, faithfulness and support, his gaze meeting with Julie's.

She smiled before turning her attention back toward the ceremony. Tim gazed at her a few more seconds before turning his attention back to the ceremony as well, a grin on his lips. It seemed to pass by quickly to Tim, as the preacher loudly announced Tyra and Landry as man and wife.

Tim chuckled as Landry laid a big one on Tyra, causing the congregation to stand to their feet and clap as Mr. and Mrs. Clarke made their way down the aisle. The kids trotted along after, with Matt and Mindy following close behind.

Tim offered his arm to Julie, placing his hand over hers as they made their way down the aisle.

"You're lookin' mighty fine, Taylor." He murmured, leaning his head down closer to hers.

"Thank you." She said quietly, her eyes twinkling. "You're not lookin' so bad yourself, Tim." She replied with a grin.

Tim smirked, giving her hand a squeeze as they walked side by side.

He was wrong about his earlier thoughts of wanting to pick up some girl at the reception to let off steam.

There was only one girl he wanted.

Only one girl that could fill that incessant need.

And that was Julie Taylor.

* * *

Julie downed another glass of champagne, feeling pretty sure that she was well on her way to getting drunk. She had lost count of how many glasses she had drank.

She blamed it on Tyra and Landry. It wasn't her fault that they had chosen to have an open bar at their wedding reception.

The wedding had turned out perfectly. It had been 'magical' as Angela had described it with tears in her eyes earlier.

The reception was rockin' too. With Landry's love of music, everyone knew there would be a live band, and the band was really good.

Landry and Tyra had shared their first dance together and Matt and Mindy had given their toasts to the bride and groom. Everything had gone off perfectly so far, and Julie was happy for her friends as she watched them dancing on the dance floor.

Her gaze flittered around the room, coming to rest on Matt and Rachel. They were dancing slowly, and Matt was staring down at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world, like he held the world in his arms. Julie turned her head away, biting her lip as she tried to stop the pain she felt at the sight.

When had her priorities changed? She had always focused on her career and achieving her goals. But ever since returning to Dillon, all she could do was mope and around and feel sorry for herself for being alone. It seemed that she was constantly wondering why she didn't have someone for herself.

"Hey kiddo, why the long face?" Eric asked from beside Julie, startling her.

"Dad, you scared me." Julie said with a quick smile.

"Sorry." He replied, giving her a questioning look. "You alright?" He asked quietly.

Julie nodded, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin' about some things."

Eric nodded slowly. "Well, how 'bout you put those thoughts on hold and share a dance with your dear old dad." He said with a grin, holding out his hand.

Julie chuckled, taking his hand. "Sounds like a good idea."

Julie followed her dad out on the dance floor, slowly moving back and forth among the crowds of people. Julie turned her head as she heard someone clearing their throat.

"You mind if I cut in, Coach?" Tim asked, smiling at Julie.

Eric looked from Julie to Tim, a small smile on his lips. "Not at all, son. Watch her though, she'll step on your toes." Eric said with a chuckle.

"Dad!" Julie said, rolling her eyes as her father walked away.

She smiled up at Tim as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. "Hey." She said softly, linking her fingers together behind his neck.

"Hey." Tim replied, a grin on his face as he stared down at her.

Julie stared back, both of them gazing at each other stupidly as they swayed back and forth slowly. Julie wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or Tim's nearness, but all of a sudden she was feeling deliciously carefree and maybe a little brazen as she blurted out a question she had been wanting to ask for days.

"Why did you kiss me the other night?" She asked, watching Tim's eyes widen slightly. He obviously hadn't been expecting her bluntness.

"Because I wanted to." He answered softly, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

Julie narrowed her eyes slightly, watching the corners of his lovely mouth turn up in a smile.

"Do you always go around kissing girls whenever you want to?" She asked smartly.

Tim smirked. "Pretty much." He replied cockily, earning him a pinch on the neck. "Ow! Easy, Taylor." He said with a chuckle, leaning forward to say something else as the music suddenly stopped and Landry's voice blared out over the speakers.

"Okay people, I need everyone to clear the dance floor except for all the single ladies. All the single ladies please gather in the middle so that my beautiful bride can throw the bouquet and we can get on our way to the honeymoon." He said with a chuckle, causing the crowd to laugh.

Julie took a step back from Tim, instantly missing the feel of his arms around her waist.

"That's you, Taylor." Tim drawled.

"Huh?"

"Single ladies. That's you." Tim replied, giving her a small shove toward the group of women gathering nearby. "Get your sweet ass out there."

Julie sighed, not wanting to subject herself to the tradition of catching the bouquet. Just another slap in the face once again reiterating the fact that she didn't have a significant other.

She watched as Tyra turned her back, hurling the bouquet toward the group. Julie had a moment of panic as the women around her started squealing and jumping toward the bouquet.

"Jesus." She murmured quietly, trying to step back as she wondered if she should be fearing for her life.

Julie smiled as she watched Angela catch the bouquet. It seemed appropriate that the bride's mom would be the one to catch the flowers, and apparently Tyra thought so too as she laughed at the situation from her spot beside Landry.

Things seemed to move quickly after that, with everyone making their way outside the reception hall and lining up to see Landry and Tyra leave. Julie stood beside her parents and Gracie near the limo, watching as Gracie blew bubble after bubble.

Julie cheered loudly as she watched the happy couple making their way out amongst the gathering of friends and family.

Tyra stopped beside Julie, giving her a huge hug and whispering in her ear. "Thank you so much, Jules."

Julie felt her eyes tearing up as she gave her best friend a squeeze. "It was beautiful, Ty. I'm so happy for you." Julie said softly, pulling back and giving Tyra a big grin. "Now you two go have a blast in the Bahamas."

Tyra laughed, wrapping her arm around Landry's waist. "Oh, you know we will!"

Julie watched as Tyra and Landry waved one final time before disappearing into the limo and slowly driving away, the crowd beginning to disperse at their exit.

"That was a beautiful wedding." Tami said with a smile on her face, wrapping her arm around Eric's waist.

Eric nodded slightly, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Tyra looked pretty." Gracie piped up, still blowing bubbles into the air.

"Yeah, she really did." Julie said with a smile.

"Well, I guess we're about to go, Jules." Tami said. "Are you coming back to the house for a little while?"

"No." Julie said slowly, shaking her head at her mother. "I've got my clothes in the car, so I think I'm just gonna go ahead and head over to Tyra and Landry's. I've gotta check on the cats and all that, plus I'm pretty tired."

"Well alright." Tami said reluctantly. "Just be careful there by yourself."

"Mom, I live in New York by myself, I think I'll be fine here in Dillon." Julie said with a chuckle.

Eric grinned. "You can never be too careful. We'll see you tomorrow honey."

"Bye dad." Julie replied, giving hugs to her family before turning and heading toward her vehicle, lost in her own thoughts.

"Headin' home, Taylor?" She heard, turning to find Tim ambling along slowly behind her, his tuxedo jacket slung over his shoulder.

"No, I'm housesitting for the newlyweds while they're gone."

"Yeah, Landry mentioned that." Tim said nodding as he looked at her in a way that made her shiver. "You want to come over, maybe have a few drinks and continue celebratin'?"

Julie grinned. "The wedding's over, Tim."

Tim shrugged, a smirk on his lips. "No reason why we can't continue to toast our good friends. Come on, what do you say?"

Julie smiled, looking down at the ground for several seconds as she thought about his offer. Spending time with Tim sounded better than sitting alone with a couple of cats.

She was tired of being alone, and an evening of alcohol and Tim sounded like an offer she just couldn't refuse.

"Yeah…" She replied softly, smiling as she watched a grin cover his face. "Yeah, I'll come over."


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: I know you're all probably pretty upset about the long time between updates. I sincerely apologize! I've been working a lot of overtime at work and honestly have not had time to write like I wished. Hopefully you ladies are still interested in this story and hopefully this chapter makes up for the lack of updates. I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to update again - it could be a few days or a few weeks - it'll just depend on how work goes the next few weeks. Thanks so, so much for all the great feedback I've received so far!!! You ladies are awesome :D Enjoy!!!

* * *

Julie brought her small rental car to a stop beside Tim's truck, turning the engine off as she looked at the small, quaint house before her.

The house was older, but it looked like Tim had done a lot of handiwork on it. It was nice – which was just another surprise that seemed to be coming her way where Tim was concerned.

She stepped out of the vehicle, turning her gaze toward the lake and the boat tied to the pier.

"This is really nice, Tim." Julie said quietly, coming to stand beside him as he hopped out of his truck.

"Thanks." Tim muttered, giving her an almost shy smile. "It's home."

Julie smiled, following him as he stepped up onto the large covered porch, complete with a swing on one end. She stood behind him as he placed his key in the lock, trying not to notice how good he smelled or how utterly gorgeous he looked in his white collared shirt and black pants – the only remnants of his tuxedo still remaining.

Julie had a feeling that the jacket and tie were long gone. Not that she was complaining.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Tim said with a grin, holding his arm out as he ushered Julie into the house.

Julie looked around, taking in the small living area. It was clean – no empty beer bottles, no cardboard cutout of a half-naked woman adorning the walls – just a few comfy-looking pieces of furniture, a couple of sports magazines scattered across the end table, and huge flat screen television that her dad would die for.

"Well?" He asked, giving her a smirk as he watched her take in the room.

"It's nice." She said, attempting to keep the surprise out of her voice.

Tim chuckled lowly, the sound sending goosebumps over her skin. "Surprised?"

"Well…I only entered the Riggins house a few times in high school, but I remember enough to know that you and Billy weren't the cleanest of guys. So, yeah, maybe I am a little surprised." Julie said with a shrug, giving Tim a grin as he continued chuckling.

Julie turned her head toward the hall as she heard a noise, surprised to see a small dog running out and jumping on Tim's leg.

"Hey buddy." Tim said happily, giving the dog a good scratch, causing it's tail to wag happily back and forth.

Julie let out a silent 'aww' at the sight of Tim petting the cute, little dog. Julie squatted down to the pet the dog herself, as it quickly jumped up on her knees and tried to lick her face.

"Hey there." Julie said with a giggle, scratching the dog on the head.

"That's Duke." Tim said shaking his head slightly. "He loves the ladies."

Julie snickered. "Kind of like his owner?"

Tim chuckled, choosing not to comment.

"How old is he?" She asked, continuing to pet Duke.

Tim shrugged. "I'm not real sure. He showed up at the shop a few years ago, all skin and bones – looking like he hadn't ate in weeks. I started feeding him at the shop and he kept coming back. Finally I just brought him home with me."

Julie felt her heart squeeze at the thought of Tim bringing home the stray and nursing him back to health.

"He's a good dog. Usually pretty loyal, but he seems to have found someone he likes better than me." He said with a smirk, motioning toward Julie.

"Well, he's obviously got good taste." She replied quickly, standing up and giving him a look.

"That he does." Tim said softly, giving Julie a look that made her toes curl. "How 'bout you have a seat and I'll get us something to drink." He said after a few tension-filled seconds.

"Uh, sure." Julie replied, walking around and sitting on the comfy sofa as Tim disappeared into the small kitchen. A few seconds later he was back, carrying two small glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

"I'm fresh out of tequila." He said with a grin, plopping down on the sofa beside her. "You drink whiskey?"

Julie nodded. "Of course. I'm not a lightweight, Riggins."

Tim smirked. "Well…I distinctly remember you not being able to hold your liquor very well, Taylor. Do you happen to remember the night I dragged your drunk ass into your house and we got caught by Coach? The same night that you tried to kiss me and I got thrown out."

Julie felt herself blush. "I did not try to kiss you." She said emphatically. Even though she knew she had. She had blamed it on the alcohol.

"Whatever, Taylor." Tim said, passing her a glass half full of whiskey. "Cheers." He muttered, knocking his glass gently against hers before downing a huge swallow of his own drink.

Julie followed suit, taking a huge gulp of the liquid, loving the feel of the burn it left down her throat. She held her glass out for another shot, watching as Tim quickly refilled both glasses.

She jumped as she felt Duke's cold nose brushing against her leg. She patted his head, taking a sip of the fiery liquid.

"Why'd you name him Duke? Because he's prestigious – like royalty or something?"

Tim smirked. "Not hardly. I named him Duke after the Dukes of Hazzard – you know, that old TV show."

Julie laughed as she rolled her eyes. "Oh my god."

"What?" Tim asked quickly. "It's a good show." He said, giving her a grin.

Julie just laughed as she downed the rest of her drink, sinking back into the sofa. She could feel herself becoming a little light-headed already from her two quick shots of whiskey, the buzz of her earlier drinking at the wedding quickly reappearing. Tim poured her another shot before setting the bottle on the table and leaning back into the sofa, his shoulder brushing against hers sending a jolt of electricity through her body.

"Your house is nice." Julie said quietly, once again looking around the room. "Did I say that earlier?"

Tim grinned. "Yeah, but thanks again. You still sound kind of surprised."

"Well, when we were in high school did you ever think that you would have a successful job, own your own home – on the lake no less, and have a cute little dog?"

"First off, Duke is not 'cute'. You'll give my man a complex callin' him such things." He said, trying to keep a straight face. "But to answer your question, yes, this is pretty much how I pictured it. The only thing missing is a wife and a few kids running around."

Julie took a sip of her drink, looking at him through her lashes. "Seriously?"

"Well, me and Jay always talked about making the big bucks – well, him making the big bucks and me spendin' them." Tim said with a grin, shrugging his shoulders. "And buying some land and settlin' down. It didn't quite turn out as planned though. He's making the money in New York as a sports agent and he's got Erin and his kids. While I've got the spot on the lake and some money saved up, just nobody to share it with." He finished quietly.

Julie looked down at her glass, running her finger around the rim. "What happened with you and Lyla?" She asked quietly, wondering if he was thinking about her and how she should have been sharing it with him.

"Lyla." Tim muttered, taking a long swallow of whiskey. "Last I heard Lyla was living in Atlanta, engaged to some preppy businessman who Buddy thinks hung the moon. I haven't heard from her in a few years."

"Y'all broke up during your first year of college?" Julie asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

Tim nodded, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and topping off both their glasses. "Yeah, the whole long distance thing didn't work out too well. We were pretty much over by the time I decided to quit school, but that was pretty much the nail in the coffin. She was so disappointed in me." He said quietly.

Julie felt her heart tighten again at Tim's words. "Well, it was her loss." Julie said softly. "I mean, look at how well you're doin' and all you've got going on. Hell, I don't even own a house. I rent a tiny apartment in the city and don't even have a pet fish, much less a dog. And a boyfriend – what's that? I haven't even had a relationship in what seems like forever."

Julie knew she was being a little melodramatic, but she couldn't stop the rambling. It tended to happen when she got drunk.

"And then there's Matt looking all happy with his fiancé. Don't get me wrong, I'm way over Matt, but did he really have to look so damn happy? And did Rachel really have to be so freakin' gorgeous?" She asked in a huff, downing another shot of whiskey.

"Taylor, Rachel is not even in the same league as you." Tim said, stretching his arm out behind her on the couch as he turned to face her.

Julie sighed. "Tim, please don't patronize me."

Tim chuckled, setting his glass down on the table as he turned her face toward him. "I'm not patronizing you – whatever the hell that means." He said with a grin. "You are and always have been gorgeous – the kind of gorgeous that stops a guy in his tracks and keeps him awake at night thinking about you."

Julie felt her breath catch at the feel of his hand on her face and the sweetness of his words.

"Really?" She asked, not quite believing his words.

He nodded slowly. "I know that thoughts of you kept me up many nights, both in high school and these past few weeks." He murmured softly, his gaze drifting down to her lips.

Julie licked them nervously, feeling his arm tighten around her shoulder. She didn't wait on him to make the first move as she leaned into him, pressing her lips hard against his.

It wasn't a short, sweet kiss like the one they had shared in her parents' driveway. This kiss was hot. A mixture of rough caresses and colliding tongues and the taste of sweet whiskey mixing between them.

Julie moaned as she felt Tim sliding one hand around her neck and tangling in her hair, pulling her closer and bringing her flush against his chest.

A sound escaped from her throat, somewhere between a moan and a sigh as Tim pressed her back against the sofa, bringing his mouth down harder on hers.

They both seemed impatient as their hands groped at clothing, each trying desperately to reach skin. Julie gasped at the feel of Tim's large hand on her breasts, cupping her through her dress.

It felt beyond great, but it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

"Bedroom." Julie managed to mutter between gasping for breath. "Let's go to your bedroom."

"You sure?" He muttered heatedly, slowly leaving a trail of open-mouth kisses down the side of her neck and into her cleavage.

"Yes." She squeaked, pulling his head up and meeting his gaze, seeing the same intensity in his eyes that she felt herself.

Tim quickly obliged, grabbing her by the hand and all but dragging her down a hallway, both of them stumbling around – drunk from the alcohol and each other as they made their way into the master bedroom.

Julie didn't have much time to look at the room, not that she wanted to when Tim was quickly getting undressed, throwing his clothes on the floor, revealing his rock hard muscles.

"Don't just stand there, Taylor." He said playfully, wrapping his strong arms around her and pushing her back against the bed. She giggled as they toppled over, landing in a heap of arms and legs.

Tim's mouth caught hers, turning her laugh into a moan as he did wicked things with his tongue, all while his hands were making quick work of her dress and undergarments. After what seemed like forever, they were finally both naked and as much as Julie wanted to admire the perfection that was Tim Riggins, she needed him inside her much, much more.

"Now." She muttered, pulling his head up with her hands and grinding her hips against his.

Tim moaned, still managing to give her a smirk. "You're so bossy, Taylor." He muttered, earning him a pinch on his very fine ass.

"I need you, now." Julie said again, their gazes clashing in a hot look. She almost whined as he rolled away to grab protection out of his bedside drawer.

Good god, she thought silently. I'm glad he's still coherent enough to think of protection. It had been the farthest thing from her mind, and while she was on the pill and wasn't worried about getting pregnant – it was always better to be safe than sorry as her mother would say.

Julie wrapped her arms around him as he placed his lips on hers, entering her inch by wonderful inch. Julie couldn't hold back a moan as he filled her completely, her fingers raking down his back toward his hips to pull him in even farther. Julie was bombarded by feelings of pleasure as Tim began to thrust in and out, each move leaving her wanting more.

She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, or if it had just been too long since she'd had sex, or if Tim was just that good – but it was better than she ever remembered. As Tim slowly did some kind of swivel motion with his hips before thrusting against her once again, Julie moaned loudly.

Tim was just that damn good.

The next minutes passed in a whirlwind of sensations – sweaty bodies, hot kisses, and roaming hands – all while each murmured hot words of encouragement as they both got closer and closer to release.

Julie felt overwhelmed, barely able to think as she cried out his name, her breath coming in ragged pants. Tim soon followed, letting out a cry of his own before collapsing on top of her flushed body.

Julie lay beneath him, wondering for a moment how this had come about. She had just had sex with Tim Riggins.

Okay, not just sex, but _amazing_ sex with Tim Riggins.

She wanted to laugh at the thought but found that she didn't have the strength. She smiled instead, her body and mind exhausted as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Tim woke slowly, running his hand over his face, instantly realizing that someone was in bed with him. He didn't open his eyes, scared to open them and realize that maybe his night with Julie had been a dream – a hot, sexy dream that he didn't want to end.

Slowly, he peeked through one eye, letting out a sigh of relief as he noticed long, blonde locks lying over his pillow. He'd know that hair anywhere – he'd spent a great deal of time last night running his hands through it.

He rolled over slowly, trying his best not to wake her as he looked at her lying there on the bed – his bed. She was lying on her stomach, her hair spread out over the pillow as her small hand lay tucked beneath her cheek.

She looked almost angelic lying there, except for the fact that she was completely naked with only a sheet covering her from the waist down. Tim let his gaze linger on the smooth skin of her back and hint of her breast shielded by her arm before returning to her face.

She really was perfect. He hadn't been lying last night when he had told her that she was gorgeous and in a league all her own. She was. And he had held her in his arms and whispered hot words in her ear and made her melt beneath him.

He had slept with dozens of women, but he was pretty damn sure he'd never felt more like a man than he had last night.

The sound of a cellphone ringing blared in the quiet room, causing Julie to open her eyes. He watched her slowly raise her head, the fuzziness of her mind clearing as her gaze met his and she realized where she was.

"Mornin'." Tim murmured, giving her a slight grin.

Julie gave him a slight smile, rubbing her eyes as the cellphone sounded once again. "Shit. Is that my phone?" She muttered, rolling over and leaning over the side of the bed.

Tim watched more and more beautiful skin exposed from the beneath the sheet as Julie stretched toward her pile of clothes, pulling a small cellphone from underneath.

Tim held back a chuckle as he watched her struggling to cover herself with the sheet, pulling it up over her breasts and tucking it beneath her arms as she sat up to answer her call. He didn't know why she was being all modest this morning. He had seen every inch of her last night.

"Hello." She said, the sleepy sound of her voice making him half-hard. "Hey, mom." She said, giving him a quick look that told him to be quiet.

Tim nodded, understanding her warning. Hell, he didn't want the wrath of Tami Taylor on him. He was smart enough to keep quiet.

"No, no I don't think I'm going to make it to church this morning…No, I probably won't be by for lunch either." Julie spoke into the phone, absentmindedly running her fingers over her hair. "Yeah, dinner sounds good. I'll be over around six or so…Okay, I love you too. Bye mom." Julie said, ending the call and closing the small phone.

Tim watched her lay the phone on the bedside table, turning slowly back towards him. She cleared her throat, nervously tucking her hair back behind her ears. "So…" She said softly, giving him a look – silently asking him "what now?"

Tim didn't know the answer to that, but he sure as hell knew he didn't want her to leave. "You hungry?" He asked, sitting up and throwing the covers back before standing and retrieving a pair of shorts thrown over a nearby chair.

He felt Julie's eyes on him as he slowly pulled the shorts up. He wondered if his nakedness was affecting her as much as hers was affecting him.

He turned slowly, running a hand through his unruly hair as he looked at her. "You hungry?" He asked again, trying to shake her out of her daze.

"Uh, not really. I think I'm a little hungover." Julie mumbled, rubbing her forehead, not quite meeting Tim's gaze.

"Well, you need to eat. Trust me, I know hangovers." He said with a grin, earning a smile from her sweet lips. "How 'bout you get a nice, hot shower and I'll go fix us some breakfast. Shower, food, and some Tylenol will have you feeling better in no time."

Julie nodded slightly. "Alright."

"Alright." Tim repeated, giving her smirk before heading out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

He made his way to the kitchen, giving Duke a quick pet as he lay in front of the back door. "Mornin' buddy." He muttered before washing his hands and starting breakfast.

As he worked his way around the kitchen he tried to stay calm, but he couldn't help but worry about how last night was going to affect his friendship with Julie. He could tell that she didn't really know how to handle the situation either. He didn't want it to be awkward. And hell, it shouldn't have to be awkward.

They were both adults. And there was obviously some heat between them – there had been for the past few weeks. Julie was in town until Saturday, and by god he wanted to keep her in his bed until then. Come Saturday, she could head back to New York, but for now he wanted her in his bed, in his arms.

"It smells good." Julie said from behind him, clearing her throat to get his attention.

Tim quickly set down his spatula, turning and feeling the air leave his lungs as he saw her standing in the kitchen doorway in one of his old plaid shirts. The shirt was way too big for her, falling about half way down her smooth thighs. She had rolled the sleeves up almost to her elbows. Tim didn't think he'd ever be able to look at that old plaid shirt the same way again.

Unable to resist, he walked toward and pulled her into his arms, kissing her with a hunger that made them both shudder. He pulled back, watching her lick her lips.

"Tim…" She said quietly, her voice sounding a little breathless. "What are we doin'?"

Tim sighed, pushing a strand of damp hair back behind her ear as he looked into her eyes. "Havin' fun?" He asked playfully, giving her a smile. "Come on, Jules. We're both adults. I like you, you like me. We're great in bed. You've got a week left in town. Why not have some fun while you're here?"

Julie bit her lip, resting her small hands on his chest. Tim could see the wheels turning in her head, weighing the pros and cons of his proposition.

Damn she was beautiful. She had to say yes – he hadn't had his fill of Julie Taylor yet.

"Well…" He murmured, leaning down and resting his forehead against hers, bringing them nose to nose.

Julie grinned slowly, nodding slightly. "You're right. Why not enjoy ourselves."

Tim grinned, dropping another hot kiss on her lips as his hands traveled down her back to cup her backside. A soft, feminine sound escaped Julie's throat, causing Tim's hand to tighten as he deepened the kiss, only to break it off seconds later as he lifted her into his arms.

"What, what about breakfast?" Julie stammered, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as he walked back toward the bedroom.

"Breakfast can wait." Tim replied quickly. "I'm hungry for something else right now, Jules." He said with a lecherous grin, causing her to giggle as they made their way back to the bedroom for some more fun.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: I know I say it often, but you ladies are truly awesome! Thanks so, so much for the great feedback on the last chapter. I'm so glad that you all are still interested in this story despite the sporadic updates :D I should (hopefully) be able to get another chapter up again before Christmas. So, you ladies enjoy this chapter and I'll do my best to update again soon!!!

* * *

Julie was wishing she had her camera as she watched the shades of the setting sun reflecting off the water of the lake. It was a beautiful sight, and very relaxing as she and Tim sat fishing on his pier.

Julie glanced over at him, watching as he took a long sip from his bottle of beer.

It was kind of hard to believe that only yesterday she had awoke to find herself in Tim's bed. And even harder to believe that she had spent the rest of the day there as well, becoming quite acquainted with every little inch of his delectable body, while he had done the same with hers.

They had finally got around to eating breakfast – long after lunch should have occurred – and then went back to bed for round six…or seven. She had lost count after a while.

She had finally had to leave, hurrying over to Tyra's for a quick shower before meeting her family for Sunday dinner. Her parents could obviously tell something was up – her mom asked her twice why she was so happy.

Julie had given some excuse about being home and with her family. She couldn't very well say that she had spent the day in bed with Tim Riggins, participating in the best sex of her life.

No, she didn't think her parents would really like to hear the truth in this case.

She had wondered how it was all going to work – this week of just having some fun. When she had left his house yesterday there had been no plans set, and Julie had wondered when she would hear from him again.

Long about lunchtime earlier in the day, she had contemplated calling him at work, but didn't want to seem needy. And hell, she didn't know what the rules were in this situation.

Luckily, he had called her after lunch, asking her to come over to his place after work, telling her that he had a surprise. She had of course accepted, wondering what on earth the surprise could be.

When she showed up at his house he had been out on the pier, and she had walked out to join. The smile on his face had been enough to make her breath catch, and the kiss he placed on her lips had her body turning to mush. Tim was a world-class kisser, probably due to the amount of practice he'd had, but it was worth it.

"I can't believe you've never been fishing." Tim mumbled for the third time in the past twenty minutes.

Julie rolled her eyes playfully, chuckling softly at his comment.

It turned out that Tim's 'surprise' had been a relaxing afternoon of fishing – something that Julie had never done before. Tim had been shocked when Julie told him that she'd never once been fishing, quickly telling her not to worry, that he'd teach her all she needed to know.

"That's like un-American or something, Taylor." He said with a smirk.

Julie smiled. "I don't see anything real patriotic in hooking a piece of bologna on a line and waiting for something to eat it, Tim."

"Well…when you put it that way." He drawled, giving her a wink. "Coach doesn't fish?"

"I know he has before, but it's not something that he does a lot." Julie replied. "His life mostly consists of football, football, and oh yeah – football."

Tim chuckled, taking another sip of beer, giving Duke a pat as the dog laid down beside Tim's lawn chair.

Julie had to agree with Tim on one thing – fishing was relaxing. It was more just sitting and waiting on something to nibble on the line, causing the cork to go under water. So far neither she nor Tim's cork had moved at all.

"Are you sure there are fish in this lake?" She asked playfully.

"Positive." He quickly replied.

"Maybe they don't like bologna."

"They like anything, but I thought bologna was better than worms or crickets." Tim said, a grin on his lips. "You don't exactly strike me as the kind of gal who'd wanna put a worm or cricket on a hook, Jules."

Julie made a face, the thought of touching a worm making her cringe. "You're right." She said quickly, giving a short nod. "If you had worms, you'd be fishing by yourself."

Tim chuckled, the sound making Julie's heart rate kick up a notch. He really was gorgeous – and when he looked at her with a grin on his face like he was now, it was all she could do to stay seated in her own seat. She wanted to climb over in his lap and kiss the breath out of him like he'd done to her earlier.

"You got a bite." Tim said, breaking her out of her daze as he motioned toward the water.

Julie turned, quickly realizing that her cork was under water – meaning that something had gotten a hold of her bait.

"Oh my gosh." Julie said, standing from her seat. "What do I do?"

Tim stood too, placing his bottle of beer on the pier beside his chair. "Pick up your fishing pole and slowly pull the line of the water." He said, guiding her through the motions.

Julie followed his directions, biting her lip nervously as she slowly pulled the line out of the water, revealing a fish on the end of her line. "I got one!" She said excitedly, giving him a big grin.

Tim laughed, grabbing her line and pulling the fish toward them. "Yep. It's a nice one too. A brim." He said, palming the fish in his hand so that Julie could get a good look at it.

Julie had never really thought of fish as being pretty, but this one was. It was a mixture of shimmery grays, blues, and greens, and it was a good seven or eight inches long – pretty big for her first catch.

"Can I touch it?" She asked, feeling like a little kid.

Tim nodded. "Yeah, just be careful. The fins can cut you if you're not careful."

Julie lightly touched the fish, watching as its gills moved back and forth.

"It feels weird." She murmured.

She watched as Tim turned the fish in his large hand and began removing the hook from its mouth. Julie cringed at the sight.

"Doesn't that hurt the poor thing?" She asked, watching as Tim struggled with the hook. "And doesn't it leave a hole in its mouth."

"Nah." He replied quickly. "The hole will grow back up in a few minutes – it's a rare phenomenon." He said, trying to hold back a grin.

"You are so full of shit." Julie said with a chuckle, not believing him for a second.

Tim grinned, squatting down and placing the fish back in the water. Julie watched the fish slowly swim away, as if it didn't have a care in the world.

"See. Told you it was fine." Tim said, turning to give her a grin.

Julie rolled her eyes playfully. "Thank you, oh fishing guru." She said sarcastically, earning a laugh from Tim.

She watched as he put another piece of bologna on her hook and tossed it back in the water. "We're not done?" She asked, knowing full well that Tim could probably do this for hours.

"Nope." He drawled, dropping a quick kiss on her lips before sitting back down in his chair. "I've at least gotta catch one myself. Can't have a girl beating me at something."

Julie smirked at his comment as she resettled into her chair, a feeling of rightness coming over her as she sat beside Tim, just enjoying being with him.

* * *

Tim wound a strand of Julie's hair around his finger as they lay in his bed, both of their breathing finally beginning to return to normal.

As much as Tim enjoyed sex – which was a helluva lot – he enjoyed the weightless, can't breathe, not a care in the world feeling that came right after almost as much. He was experiencing that delicious feeling at the moment as he lay beside her, loving the flush on her skin and the sleepy, pleased look in her eyes.

After a few hours of fishing they had headed back to the house where he had grilled a few burgers and they had eaten dinner. The evening had been relaxed and laid back, but there was an underlying energy that both had been able to feel, heated looks passed back and forth.

Julie had given him one heated look too many while they had been cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, causing his control to snap as he pulled her in for a hot kiss. Dirty dishes had been forgotten as they made their way down the hall and into his bed.

As he looked at her now, it was almost hard to believe that she could look so damn sweet but be so hot in the sack.

He was a lucky guy.

Well, a lucky guy for the rest of the week anyways.

"Penny for 'em." Julie said quietly, propping her cheek on her hand as she looked at him as if she was trying to read what he was thinking.

"Mmm…I was thinkin' that you look gorgeous. And that you're hot. Really hot." He said with a smirk, running his hand appreciatively over her bare hip as he pulled her closer.

He smiled as her cheeks began to redden slightly at his words.

"I never thought this would happen." She said, running her fingertips over his chest lightly, making little patterns that Tim couldn't decipher.

"What?"

"Well, back in high school I think every girl at Dillon wanted to get in your pants. And I think most did." She said, arching her eyebrow slyly. "I just never thought I'd be one of them."

"You didn't ever wonder about me, Taylor?" He asked playfully, secretly wanting to know if he had ever crossed her mind like she had his.

"Honestly…not really." She said, giving him a small smile. "I mean, you were good looking – but you didn't need anyone to tell you that. But I think I was immune to that charm of yours – you were always just more of a 'friend'. I was drawn more to the skinny, shy quarterback type in high school if you'll remember."

Tim smiled, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I remember. What about now? Are you still immune to the ole 'Riggins charm' as Billy calls it?"

A laugh escaped her lips. "Considering that we're laying here bare ass naked, I'd say that's a no."

Tim grinned, enjoying the sound of her laughter – glad that he was a part of it. "Well, I wondered about you in high school." He said, not quite looking her in the eye as he continued winding her hair around his finger.

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"Wondered how?" She asked, her voice laced with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

"I don't know. Wondered what it would be like if we went out. Whether or not you'd even give me a chance." He said with a small shrug.

"Seriously?" She asked again. "You could have any girl in the whole school. Why'd you wonder about me?"

"Jules, you obviously don't realize how smokin' you were – still are actually." He said, giving her hip a squeeze. "The majority of the guys on the team were jealous of Matt."

"Oh, so you just wondered about sleeping with me – making it with the Coach's daughter – that kind of thing."

"No, it was more than that." He said, shaking his head as he tried to find the right words to explain how he'd viewed her in high school. "You were hot, but you were funny, and so damn smart. And you had this kind of – I don't even know how to describe it…Goodness, I guess. Almost an innocence of sorts. I always wondered what it would be like to share some of that."

He met her gaze, glad to see a sweet smile on her lips. "I laid awake many nights with you on my mind, Julie Taylor. Well, nights when I was alone." He said with a smirk, trying to lighten the serious mood that had settled over their conversation.

"That's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever said to me." She said softly, her hand resting on his chest. "Well, other than the mention of you with other girls." She said quickly, leaning in for a kiss as he started to chuckle.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her naked body across his as he deepened the kiss, once again getting lost in the feelings that only Julie could evoke.

Tim couldn't help but feel that long after she left, he'd still be left lying awake at nights thinking about her. The only difference was now he knew exactly how exquisite it felt to be with her.

Now he would know exactly what he'd be missing.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Many thanks for the lovely reviews and the alerts and favorites! They really do mean a lot! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I won't be able to update again until after the holidays, so I hope you all have Happy Holidays! Thanks again! Enjoy :D

* * *

"You're filthy." Julie said as she stepped into Tim's house, unable to resist giving him a thorough look over from bottom to top.

He was dressed in his usual work attire – tight, broken in jeans that rode low on his lean hips. A tan Riggins Rigs shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, emphasizing his thick arms and wide shoulders.

His hair was messy as usual, as if he had ran his hand through it several times throughout the day. She grinned at the stubble on his cheeks, remembering how she had kept him busy this morning – making him late and leaving him without enough time to shave.

He was gorgeous, but what really had her stomach doing somersaults was the devastating half smile on his delicious lips as he stared at her.

"I just walked in the door a few minutes before you." He replied, looking down at her. "It was a helluva day, I'll tell you that."

"Well, I brought dinner." Julie grinned, holding up a sack from the Alamo Freeze. "Burgers and fries."

"That sounds delicious." Tim said with a smirk.

"Good." She said quickly. "What first? Shower or food?"

"Neither. I need a kiss first." He replied, placing his hands on her small waist as he met his mouth with hers for a deep, slow kiss, making her forget everything else for a few seconds.

She smiled, licking her lips as he pulled back. "Well…" She murmured, wanting to grab him by the hair and pull him down to kiss her again.

"I've been wantin' to do that since you left this morning." He said quietly, a satisfied grin on his handsome face.

Julie slowly trailed her finger down the side of his face. He really did have an amazing face. And body. She wished she had the time to photograph him and capture all that perfection.

He caught her small hand in his and kissed her fingertip, smiling at her. Julie felt her breath catch from his touch and his look.

"Um, how 'bout you get a shower and I'll have the food out and ready for you. Then we can eat." She said, trying to form a coherent thought.

Tim nodded. "Sounds good." He replied, dropping her hand and taking a few steps backward. "You wanna shower with me? Wash my back?"

Julie laughed. Oh boy, did she ever. But she knew from the showers that they'd taken together already that there was no way that their food would still be warm by the time they finished.

"Go." She said, still laughing as she pointed toward the bedroom.

Tim chuckled, turning and pulling his shirt off as he made his way toward the bedroom. Undoubtedly trying to tease her once more with a hint of bare skin before disappearing into the room.

Julie shook her head as she made her way into the kitchen and began laying out their meal.

It wasn't long after that Tim finished his shower and they had dinner, talking about their days. After dinner they retired to the living room, sitting on Tim's comfy couch as Julie showed him Tyra's wedding photos.

"These look great, Jules." Tim said, flipping through the photo album of Tyra's wedding and pre-wedding festivities.

"Thanks." Julie replied, looking on with him as they sat side by side.

She had gotten all of the pictures developed and had spent the day preparing Tyra's photo album while Tim had been at work.

She had driven over to his place after he got off work, as had become their routine. The routine was usually hang out and relax, eat dinner, and then go to bed – not to sleep of course.

The week seemed to be flying by, with only a few days left until it would be time for her to return to Manhattan. She shook her head slightly, not wanting to think of that right now.

"That's one of my favorites." She said, brushing her arm against his as she pointed to a picture of him, Billy, Mindy, Landry, and Tyra at the wedding reception with their arms around one another, all looking extremely happy.

"That is a good one." Tim murmured, nodding slightly as he turned the page, a smirk on his lips as he looked at a picture from Tyra's bachelorette party. "The look on Tyra's face." He said with a chuckle.

Julie laughed. Tim was right. The picture of the stripper dancing in front of Tyra and the look on her face were priceless.

"She's gonna love this." Tim said as he finished looking at all the pictures, handing the album back to Julie.

"I hope so." Julie replied, placing the album on the coffee table before leaning back against the couch, snuggling into Tim's side as he placed his strong arm around her.

Neither said a word as they sat there, both extremely comfortable just 'being' for the moment. Julie sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder, watching the rain beat down on the window.

She could see the trees blowing in the wind, and knew that they were probably in for a night of bad weather. It was that time of year in Texas – when the warm weather was just beginning to change to cold – and bad weather seemed to always be knocking on the door.

Hopefully it would just be thunderstorms and not something worse, like tornados. Bad weather didn't scare her, but tornados always set her on edge. Mostly due to the fact that she had come very near to being blown away by one.

But luckily Tim had been there to keep her safe, shielding her with his body, putting his own self in jeopardy to protect her. As a teenager, Julie had been thankful but she'd never really taken the time to think about what a sacrifice Tim had made.

She knew that he'd probably never thought of it in those terms, but that's how she saw it.

"Storms always make me think of that time in high school…" Julie began saying quietly.

"The tornado." He said quietly, finishing her thought.

"Yeah." Julie murmured, turning her head slightly to meet his gaze.

"That seems like so long ago." He said, playing with the ends of her hair.

Julie nodded. "My hero." She said with a grin, earning a squeeze from Tim.

"That's me." He said with a smirk, causing her to laugh.

"It really was a heroic thing to do though. You didn't worry about protecting yourself." She said, watching as he entwined his fingers with her own.

He shrugged, clearly not comfortable with accepting her label as a hero. "I was just trying to keep you safe, Jules. Besides, Coach would have had my ass if I'd let anything happen to you." He said with a slow wink.

Julie laughed, once again resting her head on his solid shoulder. The two once again sat cuddling in comfortable silence as the rain poured down outside.

* * *

The sound of the phone ringing woke Tim up later that night. Julie's naked body was curled around his own, as he groggily tried pulling himself away from her, having to physically remove her arms and leg from his body.

He grinned as she sighed and tried to burrow closer to him, sensing that he was pulling away from her and not liking it one bit.

He had teased her about being like a monkey – latching on to his body while she slept and not wanting to let go.

Not that he was complaining. He personally wanted to be as close to her as possible.

Finally, and regrettably, releasing himself from her clutches, he rolled over, picking up the bedside phone.

"Hello." He mumbled, running his hand over his face as he saw that it was just a little after midnight.

"Tim!" Tim instantly felt more awake as he heard the panic in his brother's voice.

"Billy, what's wrong?" Tim asked, sitting up on the side of the bed.

"Timmy, Mindy's going into labor. She's havin' contractions and they're close and she says it's time to go to the hospital and we've got the kids and, and…" Billy stammered nervously, clearly flustered by the near arrival of his third child.

"Who is it?" Julie mumbled, scooting over close to Tim and placing her hand on his back.

Tim turned, an instant grin on his lips as he looked at her. She looked adorable and sexy as hell as she sat there with her hair tangled wildly around her face and the sheet tucked up around her breasts.

"Billy. Mindy's going into labor." Tim said softly, covering the phone with his hand. "Billy, calm down. Take a deep breath, man. Get Mindy and the kids in the car and go to the hospital. We'll meet you there."

"Okay." Billy replied as Tim heard him take a deep breath. "Wait, we? Who's with you?"

"Uh, Julie…" Tim said slowly, giving Julie a shrug. He watched her raise her bare shoulders slightly in shrug of her own.

"No shit." Billy said with a short laugh, the laughter quickly dying as Tim heard Mindy screaming in the background. "Damn. Okay, we'll meet you at the hospital." Billy said quickly.

"Alright. Be careful." Tim said before ending the call.

Tim turned, surprised to already find Julie out of bed and quickly putting her clothes on.

"Here." She said, tossing him his jeans. Tim caught them in midair, quickly pulling them on before walking toward her and placing his hand beneath her chin.

"I'm sorry I let it slip about us." He said quietly, gently lifting her face up so that he could look in her beautiful eyes.

Julie smiled. "It was bound to get out at some point. Besides, we're both adults and what we do isn't anyone's business."

Tim nodded, placing a quick, hard kiss on her lips before pulling back and looking for the rest of his clothes.

The next few hours seemed to pass in a blur. Julie and Tim arrived at the hospital just seconds after Billy and Mindy.

Julie and Tim sat in the waiting area with Josh and Sara Jane, with Angela arriving soon after. Tim watched Julie interacting with the kids, trying her best to keep them entertained.

It was clear that Julie was a natural with kids and that she'd make a helluva mother. Tim felt his gut clench at the thought. He didn't want to go down that route, at least not right now.

Luckily, Billy arrived just a few seconds later, a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

"Well?" Angela asked impatiently as they all hurried toward Billy's side.

"Mindy's fine. The baby's fine." He said quickly, the grin never leaving his face. "It's a girl."

"Another sister?" Josh whined, earning him a punch in the arm by Sara Jane and a nudge from Tim.

"Can we see them?" Angela asked impatiently, wanting to see her daughter and her new granddaughter.

"Yeah, the nurses should have everything cleaned up by the time we get back there. They told me to come get the family." Billy said, giving Tim a clap on the back.

"Sounds good." Tim replied, scooping Sara Jane up in his arms.

"So, let's go. You too, Julie." Billy said, noticing Julie holding back.

"Are you sure?" She asked cautiously, giving Tim a look. "I'm not family."

Tim smiled, throwing his free arm around her shoulder. "Yeah you are, Taylor. For tonight at least, you are a Riggins." He drawled, causing Julie to laugh.

Tim ignored the slightly shocked – slightly amused look on Billy's face as he looked at his brother, motioning for him to lead the way to Mindy's room.

Tim really couldn't stand hospitals – never had been able to. But he could make exceptions for cases like this, he thought to himself as he looked down at his new little niece resting in Mindy's arms.

"She's so little." Sara Jane said quietly, checking out her new little sister from the side of the bed.

"She's precious." Angela said softly, running her hands gently over the baby's small tuft of hair.

"What's her name?" Josh asked, eyeing the baby curiously.

Billy and Mindy shared a smile, both turning toward the family. "Molly Elizabeth." Mindy said with a grin. "Molly Beth."

Tim grinned, nodding slowly. "Molly Beth Riggins. I like it."

He glanced at Julie, giving her hand a squeeze as they shared a smile.

"Tyra is going to be so pissed that she missed this." Julie said, causing everyone to laugh.

The next few minutes were spent introducing Miss Molly Beth to her family, as she was passed around from person to person. When his turn came, Tim held the tiny baby close, totally in awe of the perfection he held in his arms.

He cleared his throat, not wanting to get all emotional. Billy was one lucky son of a gun, that was for sure.

"Hey there, Molly Beth." Julie murmured, walking up beside him and placing her finger in the baby's tiny hand. "Isn't she gorgeous?"

Tim nodded slowly, glancing back down at his niece. He wanted this – his family around him, a baby of his own, and a woman at his side. Specifically the woman standing at his side at the moment.

For a second, Tim allowed himself to imagine what it would be like if Molly Beth was his and Julie's and they were a family.

Tim felt a rush of feeling at the thought.

A feeling of want.

A feeling of need.

Watching Julie talk softly to Molly Beth, he knew what he wanted - what he needed. He just wasn't sure how to make all those things happen.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Happy New Year! Hope you all had a lovely holiday! Here's the next chapter for you all. Only a few more chapters left for this story. As always, thanks so much for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. Enjoy :D

* * *

Julie drove down main street slowly, taking in the Panther decorations adorning all the small shops. She yawned as she stopped for a red light, still tired from the long night before.

She and Tim had ended up staying at the hospital until almost four in the morning before they had finally decided to leave. Tim had taken Julie back to pick up her car and she had returned to Tyra's house for the rest of the night, while he had taken the kids back home and stayed the night with them.

She had talked to him earlier, surprised to find that he was at work despite the lack of sleep. She had slept late and was still tired. Tim had told her that Angela had come over earlier and taken the kids to school later in the morning, giving them both some extra time to sleep as well.

Julie still got that fuzzy feeling when she thought about that tiny, beautiful baby. And she felt downright shaky when she thought about how sweet Tim had looked holding it in his arms, telling her softly how much she was going to love her 'Uncle Timmy'.

She sighed as she turned off main street and headed toward the peewee football field, that fuzzy feeling being replaced by sadness as she was reminded that it was Thursday afternoon. Only two days until she would be leaving.

Leaving Dillon. Leaving her family. Leaving Tim.

She had tried not to think about it too much, but the closer that Saturday came, the harder it seemed to keep it off of her mind.

She was going to miss him – a lot. She wasn't exactly sure how or when she had begun to care for him so deeply, but she did. Their week of just having some fun had turned into something much more, at least for her.

She wasn't sure what Tim's feelings for her were. And she didn't want to say anything to him about it. They had entered into this under the understanding that it was all in fun, and she didn't want to be the one to seem clingy or overbearing.

Though there were times when she was sure that Tim had feelings for her too – when his hand would linger just a tad longer than necessary on hers, when his kiss seemed sweet and almost desperate, or when he looked at her like he could see inside her and see all her secrets. Those were the times when she began to wonder if he cared about her too.

Julie pulled up to the park, looking around at the crowded peewee football field. Her mother had called her earlier and asked if she could pick Gracie up from cheerleading practice because she had a school board meeting and her dad had some film to review after practice.

Julie had quickly said she could, looking forward to spending some more time with her sister.

As Julie stepped out of her car, she saw Gracie and the rest of the young cheerleaders sitting in a group while their cheerleading coach stood talking. Julie leaned against the hood of her car, deciding to wait on Gracie there. As she glanced around the park, she spotted several young men leaving with their parents, obviously having just finished peewee football practice.

Her eyes scanned the park, coming to rest on a tall figure bending over to pick up what looked like football equipment. Tim, she thought with a smile. She'd know that tight, fine ass anywhere.

Almost as if he could feel her eyes on him, he turned meeting her gaze. His instant grin made her breath catch as she gave him a small wave, wondering what he was doing at the park and not at work.

She watched him say something to another guy before making his way toward her, his long legs moving at a leisurely pace.

Her mind went back to her first day back in town, when she had remembered her discussion with Lois about Tim doing everything slowly and lazily, specifically making love.

She now knew from experience that yes, most of the time Tim did take his time while making love – his leisurely, teasing movements making her crazy and driving her over the edge.

Though there were those times when they were both so hot that there wasn't time for the teasing. There were times when he totally lost control, and those were the moments Julie loved the most. Especially knowing that she was the cause of that loss of control.

"Hey." She said happily, trying to pull her mind out of the gutter as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Hey, Taylor." He said with a smirk. "You come by to see me?" He asked cockily, his lips curving into a killer smile. Lips that had kissed her senseless and driven her out of her mind the night before. She found herself staring at his mouth, something fluttering in her stomach at the memory of those lips on hers.

"Don't flatter yourself, Riggins." She replied with a saucy grin. "I came to pick Gracie up from practice." She said, pointing toward the group of girls.

"Damn. I was hoping maybe you had missed me as much as I've missed you." He said, rocking back on his heels, a grin on his face.

"Does that line work on most women?" Julie asked with a small laugh, cocking her head to the side.

"It's not a line, Taylor." He said quietly, a smirk on his lips as his eyes scanned her from her head to her toe.

She took a deep breath, ordering her pulse to stop racing. "What are you doin' here? Shouldn't you be at work?" She asked, a shiver running through her body at Tim's slow perusal of her body.

"Billy's at the hospital with Mindy, so I came by to pick the kids up from practice." He replied, giving her a small shrug. "Lucky me." He said quietly, giving her a lecherous grin.

"Lucky indeed." Julie said with a short laugh, looking up to see Gracie and Sara Jane heading their way.

"Hey, Gracie Bell. Hey, Sara Jane." Julie said, stepping away from Tim as the young girls walked up.

"Hey, Jules." Gracie said excitedly, giving Julie a hug.

"Hey, Julie." Sara said, grinning widely as she clung to Tim's leg.

"How are you, squirt?" Tim asked, ruffling Sara Jane's hair affectionately.

"Tim, why do you always mess everyone's hair up? You always rub my hair around like that too." Gracie said, giving Tim a haughty look and causing Julie to snicker.

Tim did have a thing about hair. He was constantly running his hands through hers, wrapping the long strands around his long fingers.

"Guess I just like pretty girls' hair, Gracie." He said, giving Julie a quick wink. "Where's your brother, Sara Jane?" Tim asked, looking around the park, spotting Josh playing on the merry-go-round with a group of kids. "Run get him and tell him it's time to go." Tim said to the young girl.

"Okay." Sara said sweetly, taking about three steps toward her brother before yelling loudly. "Josh! We're leaving!"

Julie and Tim both started to laugh at the young girl, watching as Josh quickly ran up to the group with the energy that only a kid could have. "Are we going to get ice cream?" Josh asked, coming to a stop.

"I don't know. Your mama might kill me if I ruin y'all's dinner." Tim replied, looking down at Josh and Sara Jane.

"Oh! Can we get ice cream, Jules? " Gracie asked, tugging on Julie's hand, giving her a pleading look. "Please…"

Julie glanced at Tim, seeing the laughter in his eyes. "What do you say, Taylor? You up for some ice cream?" He asked, giving her a smirk.

"Yeah, I could go for a milkshake." Julie answered slowly, smiling back at him.

"Yes!" Josh said excitedly, giving Tim a high five as the girls laughed.

"Meet you at the Alamo Freeze." Julie said with a grin, taking Gracie's hand as they turned to get in the car.

* * *

"Ahh…brain freeze." Josh whined, pressing his palm against his forehead, as the group sat around a table at the Alamo Freeze eating their ice cream.

"Slow down." Tim said with a laugh, nudging his nephew in the shoulder. "Don't eat it so fast. Take your time."

"But it's so good." Josh said, taking another huge bite of his sundae.

"All the more reason to take your time." Tim said with a small grin, glancing across the table toward Julie. "You gotta take it slow and easy, and really enjoy it." Tim said slowly, giving her a wicked grin.

Julie blushed at his words, knowing damn well he wasn't talking about ice cream. The man was all but making love to her with his words, and he knew very well the effect it was having on her.

"So…" Julie said, trying to change the subject and get her hormones under control. "Are you guys looking forward to Homecoming next week?" She asked, looking at the younger kids.

"Oh yeah. It's gonna be great. The Panthers are gonna kill Laribee. Aren't they uncle Tim?" Josh asked excitedly, smiling up at Tim.

It was easy to see that both Josh and Sara Jane adored their uncle Tim. Hell, what wasn't there to like? He was good with the kids, laughing and playing with them, but being stern when he needed to be. He was even great with Gracie, treating her just like he did his own niece and nephew.

"Mama and Daddy were gonna take us to the Homecoming pep rally, but now I guess mama will have to stay home with Molly Beth." Sara Jane said, wanting to get in on the conversation as she licked ice cream from her fingers. "Are you coming to the pep rally, Julie?"

"Afraid not." Julie answered, giving the young girl a small smile. "I'll be gone next week, which is too bad because I haven't been to a pep rally in a really long time." She said, glancing at Tim as she took a sip of her milkshake.

"I'm sure they haven't changed all that much." Tim said with a smirk. "Buddy Garrity still talking too much, rally girls in short skirts, and the almighty Dillon Panthers…same ole, same ole."

"Did y'all go to pep rallies together when y'all were in school?" Gracie asked, her gaze looking back and forth between Julie and Tim.

"Uh…well, we were at the same pep rallies but we didn't go together." Julie said slowly, glancing at Tim. "Tim had to stand with the football players."

"But weren't you friends? Friends do things together." Sara Jane said, taking the last bite of her ice cream.

Julie glanced at Tim, their gazes meeting and holding for several seconds. Friends? Yeah, they had had some sort of odd friendship. But they had never been as close as they were now.

"Your sister and I were friends, but we were pretty busy so we didn't get to do a lot of things together." Tim said with a smirk.

"Yeah, busy with rally girls." Julie said under her breath, arching her eyebrow at him.

"You were busy with the rally girls?" Tim asked with a laugh. "Wow, now that's a whole new fantasy right there." He said, giving her a lecherous grin and causing her to blush.

"Shut up, Tim." Julie said quickly, trying not to laugh. "You about ready Gracie? We need to get you on home."

"Yeah, I guess." Gracie said quickly, gathering her trash.

"Time for us to be heading out too." Tim said, standing to help Josh and Sara Jane with their things.

The group headed out to the parking lot, Gracie getting in Julie's rental car while Tim gave Josh and Sara Jane a boost into his large truck. Tim shut the door, turning to find Julie standing beside her car door, watching him.

"Thanks for the ice cream." She said, looking up at him through her bangs.

"You're welcome." He said with a grin, taking a step closer to her, their toes touching.

"What are your plans for the night?" She asked, tilting her head back to meet his eyes.

"I'm gonna take the kids to the hospital to see Mindy and the baby. Then Angela's keeping them tonight…So I'll be around later. How 'bout you?

"I'm having dinner with my parents. Then my calendar is free for the rest of the evening." She said slyly, smiling up at him. "Think you could use some company tonight?"

"Oh yeah." He said softly, leaning down to brush his lips across hers, his hand sliding beneath her hair to cup the back of her neck, pulling her in closer to him. With a helpless moan, Julie tilted her head, giving in as Tim deepened the kiss.

Hmm…Tim and chocolate. Can't get much better than that, Julie thought to herself, smiling against his mouth, as he brushed his lips over hers like he had all the time in the world. Julie pressed her hands against his solid chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart underneath, reveling in the fact that she was the cause of it.

"Shit." Julie muttered, quickly jumping back as the sound of a car horn startled her, turning to see that Gracie had been the one to blow the horn, as she now gave Julie an impatient look through the car window.

Julie turned back around to find Tim looking down at her with a heart-stopping grin, trying to hold back his laughter. "Sorry about that." She said quickly, giving him a smile. "I better go."

"Yeah, you don't want another look like that from Gracie." Tim said with a chuckle. "Bye Taylor." He said with a grin, giving her blonde hair a soft tug before turning and climbing into his truck, leaving her standing there with a sappy grin on her face as she watched him drive away.

* * *

"Well honey, I don't understand why you had to go to the hospital." Eric said, shaking his head at Julie later that evening as the family has dinner. "I didn't know you and Tim were that close of friends."

Julie had decided to go ahead and tell her parents about being at the hospital for Mindy having her baby, knowing that if she didn't tell them, that they would eventually hear it from someone else.

"I told you dad, it wasn't that big of a deal. I just helped watched the kids while the family was dealing with everything else." Julie said, immediately liking that excuse. That should be sufficient to hold off questions from her parents.

"She was probably there because Tim kissed her today too." Gracie said from her spot at the table, grinning mischievously at Julie.

"Gracie!" Julie said loudly, at the same time that both of her parents turned to look at her with unreadable expressions on their faces.

"Tim Riggins?" Tami asked, smiling at Julie. "Are you and Tim dating honey?"

"No mom. We're not dating. I'm just in town visiting." Julie said in a huff, rolling her eyes.

"So you're not dating but you're kissing in public is what you're saying." Eric said in his no-nonsense voice, giving Julie a look.

"Dad, it's not like that." Julie said, feeling like a damn teenager again, trying to explain herself to her parents.

"Julie honey, we love Tim. He's always had a special place in our hearts you know." Tami said with a smile. "He's come a long way from the young man he was in high school. He's a good man now, Jules."

Julie could tell by the pleased look on her mother's face that she was hoping for a romance between them. Oh Lord, if she got that idea in her head, then she'd be playing matchmaker.

"Yeah, I know mom." Julie said quickly, glancing at her father to see him watching her closely with a small grin on his lips. "What?" She asked quickly, not knowing what to think of that look.

"Nothing." Eric said with a small grin, turning his attention back to his dinner. "You and Tim Riggins huh?" He said with a quiet laugh, shaking his head.

"Dad…" Julie said rolling her eyes again, looking across the table to see Gracie still grinning like the little imp that she was. "We're just friends." She said emphatically.

Julie didn't know what else to say. She couldn't exactly tell her parents she and Tim had decided to just have some fun for the week. Even though she was twenty-six, she was pretty sure her dad might kill her. And she didn't want to die yet.

"So, how's the game looking for Friday night?" Julie said, deciding that trying to convince her family that she and Tim were not an item was probably useless. They already had she and Tim married with a houseful of kids from the dreamy looks on their faces.

She didn't want to think about being married and having a house full of kids. Especially not being married to Tim and having a house full of his kids.

Seeing him with that baby had gotten her hormones all in a tizzy, not to mention the emotional mess she'd been in due to having to put up with the wedding and all the happy couples around her.

She'd be lying if she said the thought of staying in Dillon and staying with Tim hadn't crossed her mind. But she knew that realistically that wasn't an option.

She had a job and a home, and a whole other life in Manhattan. She couldn't throw that all away because she had fallen for Tim. And yes, she had definitely fallen for him – she was finally able to admit that much to herself.

She had fallen hard – her feelings for him stronger than she could have thought possible. It hurt, knowing that she would be leaving him and their lazy evenings at his house – fishing or sitting on the porch watching Duke play in the yard.

But as much as that hurt, the thought of him settling down with someone else after she left hurt even more. Tim had hinted around over the past few weeks that he wouldn't mind getting married and settling down with someone.

She just wished that someone could be her.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Okay, I was reading back over this story because to be honest, I had forgotten some little details, when I realized something. This story is so melodramatic, lol! But apparently that's okay from the lovely reviews that I have received from you ladies. Or at least I hope it's okay, because this chapter isn't much different ;D You all really are awesome! Thanks as always! Enjoy!!!

* * *

Julie was feeling almost melancholy as Friday evening rolled around. She couldn't believe that the week had flown by so quickly, or that she had enjoyed her stay in Dillon so much. Seeing all her old friends and spending time with her parents and Gracie had been wonderful.

And then of course there was Tim. Her time spent with him had been wonderful as well. Or maybe better than wonderful if there was such a thing.

It had been way too long since she had relaxed and just had fun with a guy – totally being herself without worrying about each little thing she did or said. It had been way too long since she had someone focus on her and only her – making her feel like she truly was extremely special.

When she really thought about it, she had to admit that she had never really felt the way she had felt when she was with Tim. She didn't want to think about what that meant. This time tomorrow she would be back in New York. A long, long way from Tim Riggins.

She missed him already.

"You didn't eat much of your dinner." Tim said, breaking into her thoughts.

"Uh, sorry." She mumbled, giving him a smile as she pushed the food around on her plate.

He had wanted to take her out to dinner, but she had wanted to spend their last evening how they had spent every evening – at his home. He had said okay, grilling some chicken and making a salad. Even after these past few weeks, he was still managing to surprise her.

"It's delicious, really. I'm just not as hungry as I usually am." She said, taking a small bite of chicken before laying her fork on the table.

"Yeah." Tim said softly, giving her a half smile.

Julie could tell a difference in Tim too. There was a tension in the air that wasn't usually there. Not a word had been said about her leaving the following day, but they were both fully aware of what Julie's departure meant.

No more Tim and Julie.

"You wanna go sit on the porch for a while?" Tim asked, standing and taking her plate and his to the sink.

Julie stood from her seat, giving Duke a quick pat on the head as he ran up next to her. "Sure. That sounds nice." She replied, taking his hand as he led her toward the front door and out onto the porch.

Tim settled into the corner of the porch swing, pulling Julie down beside him and pulling her close to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder as he gently kicked the porch with his foot, sending the swing back and forth slowly. Julie watched Duke chasing bugs in the yard as she listened to the steady beat of Tim's pulse beneath her head. She sighed, enjoying the feel of his fingers playing with the tips of her hair on her shoulder, closing her eyes as they rocked slowly back and forth.

It hit her all at once, that she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay right where she was. She willed Tim to say something – to ask her to stay. Or better yet, to tell her how he felt about her. But as they sat swinging back and forth until long after the sun had set, not a word was spoken.

After what seemed like hours, Julie lifted her head and met Tim's gaze, a look of longing passing between them. Julie met him half way as his lips met hers in a tender kiss that had her blinking back tears.

"Come on." Tim murmured, taking her hand and leading her inside the house.

The two made their way back to his bedroom, where time seemed to stand still as they undressed one another slowly. Julie almost felt like each of them were memorizing one another's body, or at least she was. She knew that the image of Tim's tan, sculpted body and the feel of his strong arms around her would forever be in her memory.

She wanted to capture all the sensations and emotions as they tumbled onto the bed, their bodies rubbing together – hard against soft as he stretched out over her. She wanted to capture all of those feelings just like she would in a photograph, so that she would have something to remember on the lonely nights that she knew were in store for her once she returned to New York.

Then he was inside her, his movements gaining speed as he trailed kisses over her body, causing her to tremble as her hands snaked around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist, wanting to be as close to him as she could possibly be.

She held on tightly, riding the waves of pleasure with Tim, their cries mingling as they both found release. With the heavy weight of his body resting over hers, Julie ran her hand lovingly over his back. She knew that she had never experienced anything quite like that, and probably never would again. Tim had made love to her with a sweetness, but also an intensity like she had never known.

God, how she wished he would ask her to stay.

But he wouldn't.

And he didn't.

As they lay there, Julie pressed her lips to Tim's warm shoulder, silently mouthing the words 'I love you' before she closed her eyes, knowing that leaving was going to be one of the hardest things she would ever have to do.

* * *

Tim knew she was gone before he even opened his eyes. He didn't feel her soft, warm body wrapped around his, her head on his shoulder and her long blonde hair tickling his face.

He opened his eyes slowly, a sick feeling in his gut as he laid eyes on the empty space beside him. He glanced over at the clock, cursing as he saw that it was well after eleven o'clock in the morning.

He and Julie had made love twice, both with an intensity that had left him feeling worn out. But he had been unable to sleep, leaving him to watch her sleep and worry about what the hell he was going to do without her. He had finally fallen asleep in the early hours of morning, so tired that he had apparently slept through her leaving his side.

He rolled out of bed, quickly pulling on a pair of worn jeans before heading out of the bedroom, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she was still there, even though he knew in his heart that she was already gone. He strode through the living room, opening the front door, his heart dropping as he saw that her small rental car was gone, not in its usual spot beside his truck.

He slammed the door in frustration, running his hands through his hair as he walked aimlessly to the kitchen, not knowing what to do. Duke whined, drawing his gaze to the floor.

Damn it, even the dog looked sad this morning. "She's gone, buddy." Tim said quietly, squatting down and scratching the beagle behind the ears for several seconds.

He slowly stood back up, his eyes falling on a folded piece of paper sitting on his kitchen table. He quickly grabbed it up, a photo falling to the table. Tim disregarded the photo for the moment, his eyes eagerly scanning the piece of paper as he read the letter.

_**Tim, **_

_**Sorry to leave this way, but you looked so peaceful sleeping that I just couldn't bring myself to wake you. Well, that and the fact that I've never been good at goodbyes. Thanks for making my visit home a memorable one. I'm leaving you a copy of the photograph of you and the gang at Tyra's wedding. I know its your favorite. Take care of yourself and I guess I'll see you around. **_

_**xoxo **_

_**Julie**_

Tim read over the letter three times before picking up the photo from the table. It was the picture of him, Landry, Tyra, Billy, and Mindy all standing together. Julie was right, he had liked the picture, but it hadn't been his favorite.

How could it be his favorite? Julie wasn't in it. And damn it, unless he did something she wasn't going to be in his life either.

With that thought in his mind, he quickly got dressed before hopping in his truck and heading to Tyra and Landry's home, driving fast without a worry over whether or not he was speeding.

"Shit." He muttered, pulling into their small drive and not seeing Julie's rental car. He quickly brought the truck to a stop, trotting to the door and banging loudly, waiting a few seconds before banging again.

"Okay, okay already." Tyra yelled. "Hold your horses." She said, finally opening the door.

"Where's Julie?" Tim asked, not taking the time to even say hello.

"Well hello to you too, Tim. Our honeymoon was great. Thanks for asking." Tyra said sarcastically, stepping back as Tim walked into the house.

"Tyra, I don't have time to argue. I'm sorry but I really need to know where Julie is right now." He said, trying to keep his voice calm as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Hey man." Landry said walking into the room, his smile disappearing as he noticed the worried look on Tim's face.

"Hey Clarke, has Julie been by here this mornin'?"

"Uh, yeah. She was here when we got in around eight o'clock this morning. Why? Something wrong?"

Eight o'clock. Damn it, that was almost four hours ago. "What time'd she leave?"

"About nine." Tyra answered slowly, giving Tim a confused look. "What the hell's going on, Tim? You show up, barging into our house and looking like a wild man, while Julie looked like she'd lost her best friend or something, on the verge of tears."

"She was crying?" Tim asked.

He didn't want to think of his gal crying, but if she was crying that meant that maybe she didn't want to leave. Didn't it?

"No, she looked like she was _about_ to cry." Tyra explained, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you have something to do with that?"

"I don't know." Tim muttered, passing Tyra as he made his way back to the front door.

"Tim, where are you goin'?" Landry called as he and Tyra both followed along behind Tim as he opened the door and headed back to his truck.

"I've gotta go find Julie. And stop her from goin' back home."

"Tim, she's already gone." Tyra said, watching Tim closely.

Tim shook his head, placing his hand on his hip. "No. She's probably at Coach's. She wouldn't leave without tellin' them bye."

"Tim, I really don't think she'll still be there. She left here a few hours ago." Landry answered quietly, scratching his head in a confused manner.

"Well, I'll find her at the airport then." Tim muttered, a sense of dread beginning to descend on him as Tyra and Landry continued giving him bad news.

"Tim, her plane leaves in about thirty minutes. There's no way you can make it to Houston in that amount of time." Tyra replied, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. "She's gone, Tim."

Tim closed his eyes, sighing as he lowered his head. Tyra and Landry shared a look, both wondering what exactly was going on as neither had ever seen Tim look so defeated or heartbroken.

"I've at least gotta try." Tim said solemnly, raising his head and looking at his friends.

"You love her." Tyra said softly, looking at him closely.

Tim felt the air leave his lungs as he slowly nodded his head. Yeah, he loved her. Hell, he had always loved her.

"I've gotta go." He muttered, climbing into his truck, giving them a quick wave before backing out and speeding down the highway.

Tyra was right, there was no way he could make it to Houston before her flight left. He made a turn back toward town, taking the back streets toward Coach's home. He held onto the faint hope that maybe she had decided to stay.

He brought his truck to a stop in front of the Taylor's home, spotting their SUV in the driveway, but no Julie. Damn it, he thought as he hit his steering wheel with the palm of his hand.

He should have told her how he felt, that he didn't want her to go, that he loved her. There were so many things that he should have said, should have done.

And now it seemed that he was too late.

She was gone.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Looking For Love

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews on the last chapter. Hopefully this quick, long update will make up for leaving you ladies hanging ;D This is the final chapter of this story, so enjoy!!!

* * *

Tim pulled his truck up to the Panther field house, turning the ignition off as he sat there staring at the building. He had left work at Riggins Riggs with the intention of going home to his empty house, but had somehow ended up here, parked beside Coach's SUV.

It had been over a week since Julie had left. Tim wasn't one for being overly dramatic, but he felt pretty sure it had been of the worst weeks of his life. He missed her like crazy – her smile, her laugh, waking up to her curled around his body. Hell, he even missed her aggravating him about all the little things.

And Duke missed her too. He knew it was bad when his dog seemed as depressed as he had been. Tim had tried to drink the hurt away, but had found out that no matter how much alcohol he consumed, Julie was still there, even in his dreams.

Landry had been calling him a lot, most undoubtedly to make sure he was okay. Tim never asked about Julie, but Landry had told him that she hadn't returned any of Tyra's calls, but that he knew she was okay. Apparently Tyra had been checking in with Mrs. Taylor, and Mrs. T had talked to Julie several times since she had left.

Tim sighed, sliding out of the truck and heading inside the old field house, not knowing exactly what he was going to say, but knowing that he needed to talk to Coach. Tim muttered a hello and waved to a couple of assistant coaches that were on their way out, coming to a stop in Coach's doorway.

Tim stood there for a few seconds, listening to Coach talking on the phone, stepping into the small office and taking a seat as Coach waved him inside, motioning for him to sit down. Tim sat, his hands dangling between his knees as he leaned forward, waiting for Coach's phone call to finally end.

"Damn reporters." Eric muttered, taking off his blue cap and running his hands through his hair. "Always trying to put words in your mouth." He said with frustration, shaking his head slightly.

Tim nodded as if he understood, smiling slightly at Eric but remaining silent as he dropped his gaze down to the floor. Tim could feel Coach's eyes on him, more than likely taking in his haggard looking appearance and wondering why in the hell he was sitting in his office.

"What's going on, Riggins?" Eric asked after several seconds, his tone slightly worried. "You look like hell, son."

Tim laughed a humorless laugh, sitting back in his seat as he looked at Coach. "That's about how I feel."

"Everything okay? You and Billy having problems over at the shop or something?" Eric asked, leaning his elbows on his desk.

Tim shook his head, running his hand through his disheveled hair once again. "Nah, Coach. Billy's fine. The shop's fine." Tim answered, licking his lips as he tried to find the words to say. "I um, I've got a problem though. A...personal problem."

"A personal problem?" Eric asked quickly. "What do you mean? What kind of personal problem?"

"Well, you see…" Tim said, clearing his throat as he looked for the words to tell Coach – the man that had been more of a dad to him than anyone – that he was heartbroken over his daughter.

"Just spit it out, son. Use your words." Eric said impatiently, causing Tim to grin slightly as he took a deep breath.

"I'm in love with Julie." He said, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans as he finally met Coach's gaze.

"My daughter Julie?" Eric asked, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Yes sir. That would be the one." Tim replied with a short nod, waiting for Coach to explode.

Much to Tim's surprise, Eric began laughing quietly, leaning back in his chair.

"Uh, Coach?" Tim asked, not sure exactly what his laughter meant, but knowing it had to be better than yelling.

"Gracie Bell spilled the beans about you two kissin' at the Alamo Freeze, and I pretty much figured that wasn't the only time it happened, but I didn't know it was this serious." Eric said, shaking his head slightly as he looked at Tim. "You love her, huh?"

Tim nodded. "Yes sir, I do." He answered solemnly.

Eric nodded slowly, leaning forward once again. "Well, it seems like it may be mighty hard for y'all to have any kind of relationship with you here and her all the way across the U.S."

Tim sighed. "That's the thing though, I don't think she feels the same way. I mean, she left. She's gone."

"Well son, did you tell her how you felt?" Eric asked quickly.

"No." Tim answered softly.

"Well, that was your first mistake." Eric said, shaking his head. "Women need to hear those kinds of things. Especially Taylor women – they're stubborn and they have a tendency to imagine all sorts of hair-brained scenarios if you don't come out and tell them exactly how it is."

If it wasn't so important, Tim would have found himself laughing at the conversation. Him – Tim Riggins – getting advice on women from Coach. But this was no laughing matter.

"So, what do I do?" Tim asked, looking at Coach anxiously.

"I can't tell you what to do, son. You've just gotta do what you think is right." Eric said with a small smile. "But I think if you love her, truly love her, then you need to let her know. No matter what happens after that. No matter how hard that may be."

Tim nodded, letting out a sigh. He had known all along that's what he needed to do, but it was nice to hear Coach telling him the same thing.

"Otherwise you're just gonna be miserable and lookin' like hell like you do right now." Eric added with a short laugh.

Tim grinned. "Thanks, Coach."

"No problem." He answered. "Now get on out of here so that I can finish up and get home to my lovely wife."

Tim chuckled, standing and walking toward the door.

"Hey, Tim." Eric said, causing Tim to turn back toward him.

"Yeah, Coach."

"Good luck." Eric said, a smirk on his lips.

"Thanks." Tim replied, a smirk on his lips too as he turned and left the field house, thoughts of what he needed to do on his mind.

* * *

Julie had always loved New York – the fast pace, the people, the culture. But since returning to New York almost two weeks ago, she found herself getting irritated with little things all over the city.

Things that had never bothered her before now seemed to be driving her crazy. The traffic was horrendous, taxi's were too expensive, and her tiny loft apartment seemed to almost be closing in around her, leaving her feeling damn near claustrophobic.

Not to mention that it had rained for the past five days, the stormy Manhattan weather matching her mood.

Twelve days.

Twelve days since she had left Dillon. Well, ran was probably a more appropriate term. Julie had ran, barely taking the time to tell Tyra, Landry, and her family a quick goodbye before taking off for the airport.

She had run, like a big ole chicken – not willing to stay and let Tim know how she felt. She had half hoped that he would come after her, tracking her down at the airport with declarations of love like some romance novel.

She shook her head, closing her umbrella and letting herself into her apartment building. That was her problem. Yes, she was in love but she was smart enough to know that love didn't happen like it did in books, even though that seemed to be what her heart kept hoping for.

She slowly made her way up the stairs, stopping at the second floor and walking slowly to her door. She dug her key out of her purse, letting herself inside and dropping her umbrella on the floor, alongside her camera bag and purse. She took off her wet jacket, hanging it up to dry before slowly making her way to the kitchen.

She poured herself a small glass of wine, needing it after the long day she'd had at work. She just couldn't seem to get back in the swing of things at work no matter how hard she had tried. She'd been up extremely late the last few nights trying to finish a project, but she just couldn't seem to get it right. It was as if she had gone to Dillon, only to return without a lick of creativity or inspiration anymore.

She topped off her glass of wine before heading into the tiny living area, pausing beside the blinking answering machine. She pressed the play button, taking a sip of her drink. The first two messages were telemarketers, which she quickly erased. The third message was from Tyra, demanding that Julie call her back.

Julie erased the message, sighing as she curled up in the corner of the sofa, tucking her legs underneath her. She knew she was being a horrible friend. That was the fourth message that Tyra had left for her since she'd been back, and Julie hadn't returned a single call.

She just couldn't bring herself to speak to Tyra right now because she knew that Tyra knew that something just wasn't right. Julie had seen it in her eyes the morning that she and Landry had returned from their honeymoon and she had said her goodbyes with tears in her eyes. Julie also didn't think she could talk to Tyra without asking about Tim, or blurting out her feelings for him in a blubbering mess on the phone.

No, she couldn't talk to Tyra right now. Maybe tomorrow, she thought as she took another sip of her wine.

On the other hand, she had spoken with her mother almost every single day since being back. Her mother hadn't asked any questions, but Tami Taylor was a smart lady – she knew that her daughter was upset and more than likely knew that it had to do with Tim Riggins.

Talking with her mother made her feel better, until she had to hang up the phone. Then Julie just felt homesick, which was ridiculous considering that she hadn't actually lived at home in years.

And lonely. She definitely felt lonely, sitting by herself in her tiny apartment. She had been thinking of getting a pet to keep her company, but that would be hard considering that there were times when she was out of town on assignments for weeks at a time.

Thinking of a pet made her think of Duke and his cute little self. He really was a sweet dog. Kind of like his owner in that way, she thought with a sigh.

She had to get over it, she knew she did, but damn it was hard to go five minutes without Tim entering her thoughts. And the nights were the worst, tossing and turning in her bed as she thought of the hot, lazy nights spent in Tim's arms.

"Get a grip." She mumbled to herself, standing to go get another glass of wine, stopping as she heard a knock at the door.

Julie sighed, sitting her glass of wine on the table as she made her way to the door. She wasn't in the mood to put up with anyone right now, especially not a pesky neighbor or a salesman when she knew it had to be one or the other.

She unlocked the door and pulled it open, the sight before her causing her breath to catch.

"Tim." She said, a myriad of emotions mixed into that one simple word.

"Hey." He replied, giving her a small smile as he looked in her eyes.

He was gorgeous, maybe more gorgeous than she remembered as he stood there in her doorway with his wet hair and his drenched clothes molded to his body.

"Uh, come in." She mumbled after a few seconds, stepping back to let him in, feeling excited and nervous all at the same time as she closed the door.

She watched him look around the tiny apartment, running his hand though his wet hair before turning to face her once again. They stared at each other for several seconds, so long that Julie felt sure that her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

"Wh-what are you doin' here?" She stammered.

Tim shrugged slightly, trying for a grin. "I was just in the neighborhood."

Julie crossed her arms, biting her lip slightly. Was he trying to be funny or was he really in the city to see Jason? That _was_ a possibility.

"Oh, well, that's nice." She said with a forced smile, not sure what else to say.

"Nice?" Tim asked, his voice sounding deep, and different than Julie had ever heard. "Nice? No, I wouldn't say it was nice, Jules."

"Well, okay. Not nice then." She said slowly, looking at him closely.

Unless she was mistaken he sounded almost angry. She watched as he dug in his back pocket, pulling out a folded up piece of paper and holding it out for her. Julie took the paper, knowing without opening it that it was the letter that she had written for Tim the morning she had left.

She unfolded it slowly, realizing that she had been right. She looked up, meeting Tim's gaze, wondering what he wanted her to do with the paper.

"I've read over that letter about a thousand times since you left." Tim stated, taking a small step toward her. "And I don't know what the hell it means, Jules. '_xoxo_'. What does that mean? Hugs and kisses? I love you? Huh? I've wracked my brain, wondering what those four little letters meant." He said, his voice laced with frustration.

Julie cleared her throat, glancing down at the paper. Those four little letters meant everything that she had been able to say herself – I don't want to leave, I need, I love you.

"You came all the way to New York to find out what '_xoxo_' means?" She asked, purposely not answering his question, gripping the piece of paper like a lifeline.

Tim chuckled lightly, the sound causing her to look up at him. "No. I came here because I miss you, and because I've been goin' damn crazy without you." He said seriously, taking another step closer to her. "You left me. Without even a goodbye."

Julie looked at him, not knowing what to say as she felt the heat from his body as he moved closer.

"I-I uh, had to come back, Tim. You knew that. We both knew that." She said. "You never said anything –"

"You left before I had a chance to say anything." He said, interrupting her as he took a deep breath. "I'm not good with words. You know this. I didn't want you to go, but I didn't want to hold you back and I didn't know how to tell you that."

"Hold me back? Back from what?" She asked, a spark of hope arising inside of her as she began to realize that maybe Tim cared for her as much as she did him.

"Jules, I've always known that you would leave Dillon, even when we were younger. You were always different. Destined for bigger things and all that. And I knew that when you left this time too, but damn it I didn't want you to leave." He said, his voice almost a whisper as he cupped her face in his hands.

Julie shivered, licking her lips nervously as he stared down at her.

"I know I'm probably screwing this all up. Lord knows I'm no poet, but what I'm trying to say is that I've had twelve days to think about what it'd be like without you and I don't like it. Not one damn bit. I know you deserve better, but I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you Julie Taylor." He finished, a hesitant smile on his lips.

He loved her.

He really loved her, Julie thought as she tried to control the smile on her face. All the heartache of the past twelve days had all been for naught.

"You're wrong." She said, watching his eyebrows furrow together. "You didn't screw it up. That was perfect – everything you said." She said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned in closer. "And I love you, too."

Julie smiled at the wondrous look on his face as their lips met. Julie wasn't sure where they would go from here, but as she stood in Tim's arms with the knowledge that he loved her as she loved him, she knew that everything was going to be alright.

* * *

_- 5 months later -_

"Riggins, how the hell did this happen?" Jason asked, gesturing his arms to the crowd of people gathered at the wedding reception being held in the courtyard of one of the four Baptist churches in Dillon. "How did my best friend end up being married to the Coach's daughter?" He asked with a laugh.

Tim smirked, his eyes coming to rest on Julie as she danced with her father.

His _wife_. They were married. Man and wife. For better or worse. Forever.

He didn't know how in the hell he'd gotten so lucky, but he wasn't gonna question fate. No, he was gonna embrace it.

"I don't know, Street. Just lucky I guess." He drawled, causing Jason to laugh.

"Damn lucky, I'd say." Jason replied with a chuckle, turning his attention out to the dance area where Tim was looking.

When Tim thought of the past five months, it seemed to almost be a dream. The morning after confessing his love to Julie, he had asked her to marry him as they had lay in her bed after a bit of early morning love making.

Tim hadn't planned on it. It had just felt right, and Tim knew he had made the right decision after her eyes had teared up and she had given him a soft yes, looking at him like he was the most wonderful man in the world and kissing him with all the sweetness that a man could possibly ever want.

Their lives had been a whirlwind after that. Tim had returned to Dillon a few days later while Julie had remained in New York for another three weeks, resigning from her job and getting everything squared away before returning home to Dillon herself.

She had moved in with him and Duke, her furniture and belongings bringing new life to his small home. Tim had to admit that it felt more like a home with her there.

He had been worried about telling her parents, despite the fact that she kept telling him that they would be ecstatic. It was one thing for Coach to find out that he was in love with Julie, while it was another for him to find out his little girl was going to be Mrs. Riggins.

But as usual, she had been right – the Taylor's had been very happy. Coach had even given him a brief, manly hug, telling him that he was glad his daughter had chosen a good man.

Tim had mumbled a thank you as he tried not to get choked up. Those words probably meant more to Tim than Coach would ever know.

After five months of planning and preparations, the day had finally arrived. Julie had looked gorgeous beyond words in her white gown, Tyra and Gracie by her side. He hadn't minded wearing a tuxedo, though Billy, Jason, and Landry had loved ragging him about it all day.

The ceremony had been beautiful and the reception was finally starting to wind down. They had already done all the wedding day things – their first dance, cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet – all the traditional stuff. Now all that was left was to get in the limo and drive away.

They were spending a night in Houston before their plane left in the morning for Europe – a place that neither had ever been. Tim had told her he'd take her anywhere, and that had been her first choice. Tim didn't care where they went as long as he was with her.

"Tim, you're grinning like you just won the lottery or something." Landry chuckled as he and Tyra came to stand beside Tim and Jason.

Tim smirked.

"Well, he pretty much did." Tyra stated, causing the group to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Julie asked, wrapping her arm around Tim's waist as she appeared at his side.

Tim wrapped his arm around her shoulder, dropping a quick kiss on her lips as he stared down at her, silently thanking God for the hundredth time that day. "Just talking 'bout how damn lucky I am." He said with a grin.

"Tim, I don't think it's right to cuss at church, even if we are in the courtyard." She replied, returning his grin.

"Well, I think the good Lord would agree with me this time, Jules." He said softly, giving her shoulder a squeeze as a heated look passed between them.

Lord, he couldn't wait to get her alone. As gorgeous as she looked in her gown - he knew she'd look even better without it.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked quietly, clearly feeling the same need to be alone that he did.

"I've been ready." Tim replied, causing the group to laugh as they began poking fun at them for wanting to get a jump start on the honeymoon.

It didn't take long, and everyone was assembled in front of the church, birdseed in hand as they waited for Julie and Tim to walk out.

Tim squeezed Julie's hand, grinning down at her as they stood inside the church foyer. "You ready for this, Mrs. Riggins?"

Julie giggled, squeezing his hand back. "Oh yeah." She answered, giving him the sweetest smile, a smile that he knew he'd never get tired of seeing.

Tim opened the church doors, still holding Julie's hand as they made their way down the steps amongst cheering from their family and friends as birdseed rained down on them. They stopped near the limo, giving Julie a chance to say goodbye to her family while Tim turned to Billy and wrapped him in tight hug.

"You did good, little brother." Billy said softly, for only Tim's ears.

"Thanks, Billy." Tim answered, pulling back and sharing a grin with his brother.

Tim could see the pride in Billy's eyes and it made him feel good. He and Billy had been through a hell of a lot in their lives, and Tim knew that they both deserved to be happy.

Tim turned, finding Julie with tears in her eyes as she hugged her parents, telling them goodbye.

"You take good care of my girl, son." Eric said, giving Tim's shoulder a squeeze.

"I will, sir." Tim answered sincerely, meaning those words more than he'd ever meant anything. He was going to do his damnedest to keep her safe and to keep her happy.

"I know you will." Eric replied, a smile on his lips as he clapped Tim on the back.

Tim took Julie's hand. "You ready?"

She nodded slightly, smiling as she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Yeah." She answered, giving her mom and dad another quick hug before turning and following Tim toward the limo.

Julie pulled him to a stop a few feet away, turning back to give everyone a final wave, causing Tim to chuckle. At this rate they'd never get to the hotel.

Before Julie could protest, he lifted her petite frame, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Tim!" She shrieked, hitting him on the back as the crowd roared with laughter. "What are you doing?"

Tim laughed, opening the limo door and dropping her inside, turning back to look at his family, which now included the Taylor's, and giving them a grin and a wave before crawling in the limo and shutting the door behind him.

"Finally." He muttered, turning to find Julie looking at him.

"Did you think that was funny?" She asked, trying to sound mad, but Tim could tell that she was about to start laughing.

"No…" He drawled, pulling her over onto his lap as he felt the limo begin to move, thankfully on their way. "I just wanted you all to myself, Jules."

She laughed quietly, placing her small hand on his cheek as she leaned forward. "Well, you got me." She said, dropping a kiss on his lips. "Forever."

Tim smiled, wrapping his arms more tightly around her as his lips met hers once again.

Forever sounded just perfect to him.

_- The End -_

* * *

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed it! (And Anamia, I added that whole Tim throwing Julie over his shoulder in there just for you!!) Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and added it to alerts and favorites. Also thanks to all who took the time to read but never reviewed. It really does mean a lot. I'm thinking of doing a sequel - Tim and Julie in Dillon living the married life??? Let me know what you all think. Like I've said before, I don't want to write something that you all aren't interested in reading :D Thanks again!!!


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